


Freedom Scouts School for Powered Individuals

by xxdeathwishxx212



Series: Freedom Series [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, F/M, M/M, powers, super powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2020-05-07 14:52:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 78
Words: 157,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19211704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxdeathwishxx212/pseuds/xxdeathwishxx212
Summary: It’s an alternate universe where some people develop powers. Powers come in anywhere from the ages of 5-13 years old. Some people are never born with powers, and some people have up to 3. Each power they have usually connects to the others in some way.However, having powers might seem like an amazing thing. Each power is gained by a traumatic life-altering event known as a person's Power Trigger. The people with the most powers are usually the people with the hardest lives.Follow the cast of Attack on Titan as they learn to adjust and use their powers. This story will mostly be following Eren and Levi because they are the main pairing, but there may be chapters following other characters around at some points in the story.A little bit about the universe! So, the school everyone is going too is separated into two age groups. The ages 14-18 on one side of the campus and 19-25” on the other side of the campus. The students have shared dorm rooms. However, there is a thin foldable wall down the middle of the room if the students want privacy.





	1. Switching Dorms

I took a deep breath as I walked down the hall; my suitcases dragging behind me. I looked at the number given to me with some scribbled directions. I knew today would be the day I moved I’ve had it marked on my calendar for forever, but my nerves were eating at me now that it’s actually happening. My 19th birthday wasn’t that long ago which meant I would be switched to the upper classes but not only was I switching classes but I also had to switch dorms. Every 4 months they would take the new 19-year-olds to their new dorms. My new dorm room was on the other side of the campus closer to my new classes. I was praying that I would be in a dorm room with Armin again, but his dorm number was different than mine.

I continued down the hallway before stopping at the number that matched the one on the paper. I knocked despite having the key in my hand in case the person I was sharing with was already inside. Sure enough, I heard footsteps and then the door swung open.

“What do you want?” He asked with a roll of his eyes.

I stopped for a second his response taking me a little off guard. “I think I’m supposed to be here?” I said looking back at the paper double checking that I didn’t knock on the wrong door. Before I could reread the number the guy took it from my hands.

“Yup 209. Perfect,” he muttered the last part before throwing the paper back at me and turning around heading back into the room leaving the door open.

I guess that means I’m supposed to follow him. I stepped inside and my mouth practically hits the floor. This room is much bigger than my last one. It actually looks to be double the size of it actually. There was a desk on both sides of the room. The beds even seemed to be double the size of the last ones. There's a bathroom at the very back in the middle of the room and just a little in front of it there’s a collapsible wall that’s folded all the way down. It looks like it goes all the way down the middle of the room. It stops just before the front door and the bathroom door.

“I’m Eren, nice to meet you,” I said reaching my arm to shake his.

He looked at my outstretched arm for a solid minute his arm moved from his side for a second before returning there almost as if he was unsure of me. He turned his head and just muttered something back. “Jean.”

Before I could say anything else he grabbed the collapsible wall and pulled it across. Well, he doesn’t seem to bad, but he doesn’t seem to like me all that much. I started unpacking my suitcases I didn’t have much stuff, mostly clothes. So it didn’t take me very long to get unpacked and settled in. Tomorrow will be my first day in my new classes. I had to figure out how to be better at introducing myself.

I mean I know Mikasa and Armin are going to be there but I don’t know pretty much anyone else. New classes new people. I refuse to sit alone at lunch from now on. I will make at least one friend who isn’t Armin or Mikasa. As much as I love them they usually do their own things at lunch and I don’t want to just follow Mikasa around helplessly anymore.

I took a breath and decided to take a walk around the new area. I’d have to get used to it since this is where I’m staying for the next 7 years. I walked to the door bumping into Jean right as I turned around the collapsible wall.

“Watch it dipshit,” he grumbled.

“Sorry,” I mumbled backing up keeping my head down.

He just stood there for a moment before mumbling, “where are you going anyways?”

I just awkwardly fidgeted with my hands before mumbling out an answer, “I was just going for a walk.” I don’t know why he’d care but I’m not going to be rude on my first day of knowing the guy; despite him having no problems being rude. Maybe he was having a bad day. He seemed like he was trying to be friendly, at least a little.

“Oh,” he said awkwardly.

“How about you, where are you going?” I asked trying to be nice.

His eyes went wide, “None of your business,” he said quickly before lowering his head and walking out of the room, closing the door behind him. At first, I thought it was a little rude but after taking a second to think about his tone and his expression it sounded more defensive than anything.

I shrugged it off and started walking. I had no destination in mind as I felt my feet carry me. I walked around the new section of the campus. While I was out I saw as the sun starts to set. I didn’t realize it was getting so late already. I promised Armin and Mikasa I’d meet up with them at the fountain. It was at the center of the new campus section we passed it as we were heading to our dorms.

On my way there I saw Jean with some other guy they were in a dark corner of the school. I knew the reason for his defensive tone the second I saw him lean in and kiss the other guy. I tore my eyes away but not before Jean looked up and saw me. A panicked expression washed over his face. I just walked away continuing on to my destination.

I made it there just in time Armin and Mikasa were walking up. They must have bumped into each other on the way over here.

“Hey Eren,” Armin said running up to me. “Who did you get roomed with? I got roomed with this one kid named Connie, he’s 20, he’s really nice and funny.”

“I got roomed with someone named Jean.”

“That’s cool what’s he like, how old is he?”

I just shrugged, “I don’t really know yet. He’s not very social I guess.”

“Oh, well it can’t be as bad as who Mikasa got roomed with,” Armin said nudging her.

“Who’d you get roomed with?”

“Annie,” She said blankly.

“Whose that?” The name sounded a little familiar but not enough to really know where I heard it.

“She’s that 22-year-old everyone was talking about not wanting to get roomed with this morning.” Armin quickly said.

“Why?”

“Well, apparently she was brought in by the cops but no one really knows why. I heard someone say she killed someone.” Armin kept looking over his shoulder as he spoke like he was afraid of her hearing him.

“You know I hate rumors,” I rolled my eyes. I turned to Mikasa and decided to get the truth. “So what’s she really like?”

“She’s pretty quiet, keeps to herself. She’s not as bad as everyone makes her seem,” Mikasa shrugged.

I turned back to Armin, “see, she’s just like everyone else. Now can we not spread rumors about her that are probably fake.”

“Fine, but I’m still not sure about her.” He crossed his arms.

We dropped the subject and started up a new one. We just walked as we were talking. We stayed out for a few hours until Armin started yawning and we all decided to call it a night. We all headed back to our rooms. Apparently, Mikasa was in dorm 313 and Armin was in 212.

When I got to mine Jean was sitting in a chair and the collapsible wall was pushed aside. “We need to talk.” He said. His voice was stern yet his leg was anxiously bouncing.

“If it’s about what I saw then you don’t have to worry,” I said quickly.

“What exactly did you see?” He said raising an eyebrow.

“You and that other guy making out,” I said and I watched worry fall over him. “But as I said, you don’t have to worry.”

“Oh really, you’re not going to go around telling everyone. Why should I believe you?” He asked.

“Because I’m gay too. I know what it’s like to be outed and I wouldn’t want to do that to anyone.” 

Instantly he seemed to relax. “Oh,” he said quietly.

I watched him collapse on his bed and let out a sigh of relief. “Hey, Jean?” I let curiosity get the best of me.

“Yeah, Eren?” He asked sitting up. He seemed to be in a better mood now than earlier.

“How old are you?” Armin raised the question earlier and I couldn’t help but want to know.

“21.”

“Oh, cool,” I nodded.

“What’s your power?” I heard Jean ask.

“Huh?”

“Well, I figured if you get to ask a question then so do I.”

Fair enough, “I can levitate.” I said awkwardly.

“Really, that’s pretty awesome.”

“What’s yours?” I asked him back.

“I have a few.” he just smiled before snapping his fingers. As his fingers snapped a flame came out of his finger. “The snap wasn’t really necessary, but it makes it look cooler.” he laughed.

I had to agree with him then again I wasn’t really expecting fire to pop out of his fingertips snap or not.

“I can also make lightning and steam,” he said before making the flame disappear. “But I don’t feel like showing those.” He lays back on his bed putting his arms behind his head.

“That’s awesome,” I smiled. I know everyone has different powers, but it’s still a little shocking to see them in action.

“You got a boyfriend?” Jean asked next. Looks like we're playing twenty questions now which I really don’t mind. I’m just glad someone is talking to me.

“Nope.”

“What’s your boyfriend's name?” I asked and I watched him roll over to face me.

He looked me up and down hesitantly before answering. “Um, his name’s Marco.”

“That’s cool.”

We asked a few more random questions back and forth before Jean sat up, “hey, I have a huge favor to ask.”

“Um, what is it?”

“Well, I’ve been trying to get Marco switched into my room, but in order to do that someone has to switch into his room.” He said awkwardly playing with his hands and not looking me in the eyes. “My last roommate wasn’t willing to do it, but I was wondering if you would be willing to switch with him?”

“How do I do that?”

“Well, we just put in a request that takes around a week to process, then once it’s approved you two just switch.”

I just sat there for a moment I can tell he’s not just trying to get rid of me but he genuinely wants this, but I know him better than whoever my new roommate would be.

“Look, I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’ve been trying to make this happen for two years now.”

I just sat there with my mouth open. I wanted to give him an answer, but I didn’t have one.

“Look, man,” he sighed, “I’m not usually good with the whole emotions thing, but I love him more than anything, and it would mean the world to me.”

I took a breath and finally said something, “how far is his room?” I was going to say yes regardless since he’s practically begging me. Besides, I don’t want to be the reason they’re apart. However, before I say yes, I want to know a few things. Like how far I’d have to go from where I was since I spent all day trying to remember this room and my way to and from it, or who I would be rooming with.

“It’s literally right across the hall, 210.” He said more hopeful now.

“Do you at least know who I’d be rooming with.”

His hope vanished at that question, “yeah,” he said quietly. “Levi.”

“What’s he like? Is he nice?” By the way, Jean awkwardly squirmed I’ll take that as a no.

“He’s um, quiet. He pretty much keeps to himself.” He said with an awkward smile.

I could tell he was hiding something. I mean the way he reacted when he said his name he knows something, a reason I probably wouldn’t want to agree to this. However, despite me knowing that this new roommate would probably be less friendly than my current one I forced myself to give him a smile. “Okay, fine, I’ll switch rooms. On two conditions.” I said and he perked up.

“Name it.”

“One, you get the paperwork since I don’t know how to.”

“Okay, doable. Next?”

“We stay friends.”

“I can live with that,” he smiled,

"Then you got yourself a deal. I’ll fill out the paperwork whenever you give it to me.”

“Alright, I’ll get you the paperwork in the morning. Oh and Eren.”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”


	2. First Day

When I woke up the next morning I was both excited and terrified. New teachers, new classmates, new everything. Jean must have left earlier because he was gone when I woke up. As he promised last night he had gotten the forms that were now sitting on my desk. I sat down and quickly filled them out before leaving them on Jean’s desk with a note.

“They’re filled out but I don’t know where to turn them in at so that’s your job.” After I signed the note and left it all on his desk I started getting ready for the day.

I grabbed my backpack and headed to my first class. I didn’t know exactly where it was, but how hard could it be to find it? I started walking and well it turns out it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Good thing I left a little early or I might be turning up to class late. I walked in and saw Armin and Mikasa already in the room. Armin looked dead in his chair while Mikasa just rolled her eyes at him. I was looking for a seat near them but decided against it since they were sitting in the front. I headed to the back of the room where no one else was really sitting and took a seat.

More students started to come in as it got closer to class time. I didn’t recognize anyone else meaning all the other kids who moved up with Mikasa, Armin, and I were all placed in different class schedules. Oh, there's one familiar face. I thought as Jean walked in with I guess that must be Marco trailing behind him.

The bell rang and our teacher still wasn’t there. I started fidgeting in my seat my mind kept trying to convince me I must be in the wrong class despite other students waiting in here. No one else seemed concerned that our teacher was now 7 minutes late to class. Even Armin and Mikasa, though I could only see the back of their heads, seemed calm about this.

“Hello everyone,” a blur came through the door as a woman slid into the room on a rolling chair. “Sorry, I’m late I had to heal someone,” she said before her chair stopped rolling and she stopped just a little past her desk. Wait I know her. Her name is Hanji, I’ve seen her around campus she acts as one of the nurses when the others are busy.

“I see some new faces in my class.” She said excitedly standing up. “So we're going to do an introduction session.” She said happily while some of the other students groaned.

“So, how this session will go is you will say your name, your age, and your power.”

I felt panic set in. Talking out loud… sharing information about myself... I don’t have anything awesome about me to share. I felt my hands start to get a little sweaty as I sat there trying to figure out what to say.

“Do we have to?” I heard Jean groan out. I agree with him can we not do this.

“Now Jean, don’t you want to get to know your new classmates?”

“No.”

“Too bad,” she laughed before giving him a smile. “Why don’t you go first then, get it out of the way?”

“Whatever,” He rolled his eyes, “Names Jean, I’m 21, I can make fire, steam, and lightning.” He said before laying his head down on his desk from embarrassment.

I sat there scared for my turn. She just took down Jean. I’m a goner.

“How about you?” She turned to Jean’s boyfriend.

Marco smiled and nodded, “My names Marco, I’m 20, and I can make ice, control water, and breath underwater.” He said calmly.

She turned to Mikasa. “Your turn.” it looked like she was going in order which means I’d be one of the last people to go. Hopefully class will end before she gets to me.

I noticed her pick up a clipboard from her desk and scribble down notes as Mikasa started to talk. She’s probably required to mark down our powers.

“Mikasa, 19, strength, stamina, and indestructibility.” She said briefly. She was being modest about her strength. She could bench press a skyscraper if she felt like it and not even break a sweat.

“That’s amazing,” Hanji said happily.

“How about you?” She asked Armin and I immediately felt better about whatever I did because Armin straight up vanished when she asked him. When he reappeared he phased through his chair and fell to the floor.

“Oh my.” She said before giving him a hand and helping him back into his seat before scribbling some more notes on her clipboard.

“I’m um, I’m Armin and I turn invisible and phase through objects. Oh and I’m 19.” He stammered and rushed through awkwardly. Well, at least I know I can’t phase through my chair unlike him, however, I can still completely butcher what I’m going to say.

Armin looked so embarrassed, well that was until the next person stood up and started without Hanji having to tell her too. “I’m Sasha, I’m 20, and my power is hard to explain fully. She said before a second one of her appeared. “I can make duplicates of myself,” the first one of her said, “and I can control what they say and do. I can also see everything they see,” the second one said. “I can have up to 10 duplicates of myself, however, it gives me a headache seeing everything they see. One duplicate lasts an hour, 2 is about 45 minutes, 3 is about 30 minutes, and anything after that I can only hold for up to 10 minutes.” She said before the duplicate disappeared and she sat back down.

“Thank you for explaining,” Hanji said giving her a smile.

She looked at the next student who stood up and smiled, “names Connie,” oh this must be Armin’s roommate. “I’m 20. As for my power. He barely moved but a drink appeared in his hand. “I’m super fast, this drinks from the vending machine in the cafeteria.” He said with a smile before plopping down in his seat with his new soda.

Hanji looked at the next student who wasn’t paying any attention. She was off in her own little world it seemed. She also appeared to be talking to herself? Maybe she had headphones in?

Hanji walked up and tapped her on the shoulder. “Oh sorry,” She laughed before clearing her throat. “Name’s Ymir, I’m 20, and I can see and talk to the dead.” She said before turning back and going back to her conversation. Well, guess she wasn’t talking to herself.

“I’m Christa,” the next girl started, “I’m also 20, and I can mildly influence thoughts.” She said innocently with a smile. Note to self stay away from her. I don’t want anyone in my thoughts.

My eyes darted to the clock realizing that there were only two more students in front of me. It seems like I have to go no matter what.

“The name’s Reiner, don’t wear it out.” the next kid said with a big grin, “I’m 21, and I have enhanced strength and speed.” He said. I just kinda sat there thinking of the other guy who said he had speed and Mikasa’s strength. THe had superhuman abilities, but his were only enhanced yet here he was sitting there with his nose in the air acting like he was the best. I just shook my head and waited for the next person to go.

“I’m Berthold, I’m 21, and I stretch.” He said before doing a little demonstration. He reached his arm out and grabbed a pen off Hanji’s desk before handing it to her. She gave him a smile and put the pen in her pocket.

I froze. It’s my turn. The class was staring at me. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I just sat there for the longest minute of my life before finally forcing words out. “I-I, my- um I’m Eren, I’m 19, and I can levitate,” I said before rushing through my words. I wasn’t sure if anyone even understood me. Until Hanji spoke up.

“That’s awesome,” Hanji said before moving on to the next person, but not before writing some more notes on her clipboard.

“Annie?” Hanji said and was met with a cold stare. That must be Mikasa's roommate. “Do you feel like sharing today?”

“No.”

“Okay then.” Just like that Hanji moved on to the next kid. If I would have known it was that easy I would have asked to be skipped. Who am I kidding I could barely get my name out there would be no way I would get out a whole question.

“How about you Levi?” She asked and I felt my head turned to look at him. That was the person Jean was telling me about, the person who I’m supposed to be rooming with.

He didn’t even bother answering. He just sat there quietly. I noticed he even had headphones in. Maybe he couldn’t hear her?

“Well, I guess not.” She shrugged, “well I’ll finish this up with my introduction.” She smiled before sitting on her desk. “I am Hanji. I’m 26. My powers are healing, talking to animals, and I can manipulate plants.” She said before pulling her legs up on the table with her and crossing them. “Now for the rest of class, I think I’m going to let you guys get to know each other.” She said sitting back and giving us free rein of the class.

I stayed put. I was about to walk over and join Mikasa and Armin but then I saw Connie and Sasha head over to them to introduce themselves and decided to just stay put. I looked to Jean who was busy talking with Marco.

I looked around the room and it seemed everyone was talking with someone except me. Well, Annie and Levi seemed to be alone, but they looked like they wanted to be alone. Annie had her phone out and Levi had headphones in and was reading a book.

For a moment I fought with my own mind. I knew I should introduce myself to him since we were going to be roommates, however, I couldn’t bring myself to move. I looked like a deer caught in headlights.

“Hey,” I looked up and Hanji had come over to me.

“Hi,” I said back quietly.

“Don’t you want to go and talk with your friends?”

“No, they’re busy,” I said quietly. I didn’t want Armin or Mikasa to hear. If they did they might come over to me. The last thing I needed was them feeling like they had to be around me every second of the day.

“Well, do you want to try and make new friends?”

“No.” I said quickly before realizing how defensively I said that, “I mean, I’m just really tired and I don’t want to make a bad first impression.” I lied. I couldn’t even tell if my lie made any sense but I stuck with it.

“Oh, I see. Well, you made a good impression on me so far,” she laughed. “If you ever need someone to talk to you can talk to me,” she said and I nodded.

“Thank you.”

She walked back to her desk and scribbled some notes down on the clipboard before looking back up at me and with a confused look and then looking back to her paper writing something else down. I just shrugged it off and looked away. Maybe she was thinking about something and just happened to look at me.

After a little time had passed I finally got the nerve to stand up and was about to introduce myself to Levi when the bell rang. I took maybe a step from my chair before the bell decided to cut in. I just sighed and grabbed my bag. Saved by the bell? I asked myself before heading to my next class.


	3. Introductions

I headed to my next class. I noticed as Hanji trailed behind me, I assumed she had some business with whatever the teacher we were heading too. We made it to the class and sure enough, she walked in and gave him the clipboard before sitting on his desk. He didn’t seem phased that she made herself right at home in his room. He looked over the clipboard for a moment and then set it down and greeted the class.

“Hello everyone. My name is Erwin,” he said looking at my friends and me since we were the new kids in the class. “My powers are astral projection, and portals, and teleportation.” He introduced himself just like we had the last period. He left out his age, but he seemed to be around Hanji’s age maybe just slightly older.

“I’m sure Hanji already went over all of your schedule for the day,” he said before Hanji let out a sheepish laugh.

“Actually I totally forgot.” She shrugged. “Would you mind going over it?”

“Fine,” he said and Hanji started roaming around the class. It was a little weird especially when she stopped beside me for a moment. I felt a little awkward almost like I was in trouble, but she continued walking after a moment.

“So, I know most of you already know the schedule for the day, but there are some of you who don’t know the schedule for your classes. So how today goes is you have every single class as a sort of meet and greet. You get to know your teachers and your teachers get to know you.” He said before leaning against his desk. "Today's classes are much shorter than your regular ones. Regular classes will be 3 hours with a 15-minute break in between the each hour. This is to make sure that each teacher can get to each person and work with their specific powers."

“However, unlike the lower class levels, you do not have every class every day normally. On a normal day, you have two classes. Occasionally you might only have one. The schedule is emailed to everyone at the beginning of the week. However, we recommend you check your emails nightly because last-minute changes sometimes happen. The latest a change will be made is 5 pm so after 5 pm you don’t have to worry about any schedule changes. I will also say schedule changes are rare.” He said before looking to Hanji probably making sure he didn’t forget anything.

“Yup, also, I’d like to add some information for the new students and a reminder to the older students.” She cleared her throat before continuing, “if any of you guys are struggling or need to talk to anyone you can come to pretty much any of your teachers and we will help. I know some of you might be struggling and I want to take the time to let you know you don’t have to go through it alone. If you want to talk about anything, whether it’s that you’re just feeling blue today, or if you want to talk about the event that triggered your powers we will all lend an ear.”

She looked around at us and I noticed not a single student was looking at her. Everyone’s eyes hit the floor. I noticed because I brought mine back up to look to Mikasa and Armin to see what they thought about this. A quick scan around the room and everyone in the class seemed to be avoiding looking up at her. I wonder if every one else looked down for the same reason I did? My power trigger wasn’t as traumatic as some people’s but it still hurts to talk about. It’s the part in your life where you are the most stressed out. Hell, some people it was the part where their lives should have ended but it didn’t because their power triggered when it did.

“Well, I’m going to head back to my class,” she said and Erwin took back over explaining some of the things we would be learning. I checked out. I couldn’t focus on words I just kept thinking about what she said. Was she really willing to listen or was she just reading from a script?

After he finished explaining he let us have the last few minutes of time to talk amongst ourselves. I was caught in my own thoughts thinking over what Ms. Hanji had said that I didn’t even notice everyone talking until I heard Mr. Erwin speak over them.

“Class dismissed,” he said and everyone stood up to leave. “Mikasa, Armin, and Eren, may I have a moment?” he said as we stood up.

We all walked over to his desk. I could tell Armin and I were thinking the same thing, what are we in trouble for. Mikasa, on the other hand, seemed calm and unphased.

Erwin reached his hand out to shake ours one at a time. “It’s nice to meet you, I’m looking forward to having such gifted individuals in my class,” he said with a smile that just radiated friendliness. I couldn't tell if it was just from me feeling anxious or not but it felt like he stared at me with the same confused look Hanji was giving me earlier.

He let us leave after that he just wanted to greet us in person rather than see us as another face in the crowd. I’m sure it must have just been my nerves that made it seem like he was looking at me because no one else seemed to notice. He walked us to our next class and passed the clipboard onto the next teacher. Now I’m positive that it has something written about us whether it be our powers or something else but it’s about us.

Now I can’t help but be curious at what Ms. Hanji had written about me since I saw her write extra notes while looking directly at me. Whatever it was, maybe is the reason I thought Erwin was staring at me. Maybe he was. Or maybe the clipboard is just class attendance and my brain is making everything up again.

We all headed to the next class. I followed behind Erwin as he leads the way. I kept my head down no really sure of what I should do. Mikasa and Armin were busy talking up ahead and I didn’t really want to interrupt them.

“So how’s your day been so far?” Mr. Erwin had asked me and I felt myself freeze up for a second. 

“Um, good,” I said quickly.

“Have you already gotten settled into your new dorm?”

I get he was trying to be nice and make conversation, but I am way too awkward for this sort of thing. “Kinda,” I said quietly.

“Kinda? What do you mean?” He wanted me to clarify.

“Well, I’m supposed to be switching dorms within the week or something,” I said quickly. I hoped he would drop it there but of course not. Why did this class have to be so much farther away?

“Are you not getting along with your roommate?”

“No, it’s not that. We get along fine, but he really wanted to be roomed with his b- other friend. So I’m supposed to be switching with him.” I caught myself.

“Oh, you must be talking about Jean and Marco. Yeah, they’ve been trying to get switched into the same room for a while now.” Erwin laughed before pausing, “that means you’re going to be rooming with Levi?” 

I just nodded. Well, I by the way he paused he seemed to know exactly what I was in for. 

“Good luck, you’ll need it,” he patted me on my back.

“Is he that bad?” I sighed.

“He’s a good kid, he just takes some getting used to. He’s the type of person that you have to figure out, but once you do you’ll be glad you did. To bad, most of the other kids never take the time to know him.” Erwin let out a disappointed sigh as we reached the next room. “I’m sure you guys will get along.” He said with a smile before walking me into class. He handed the clipboard over to the next teacher While I went to find a seat.

I headed to an empty chair in the back but not before stealing a glance at my soon to be roommate. He had headphones in while reading a book just as he was when I saw him earlier. I sat down and turned my head away.

“Good Morning students,” our teacher greeted. “So, which of you is which?” She asked looking at the clipboard. “Armin?” She called and Armin raised a hand. “There you are. Mikasa?” Mikasa raised her hand and the same response. “You must be Eren.” She said and I just nodded.

Well, the clipboard definitely has our names on it, but that means nothing it still could just be the attendance sheets.

“Nice to meet you all, I’m Petra, my power is that I can manipulate the 3 basic states of matter.” She said introducing herself. She also seemed to be around Hanji’s age.

“So after this class, you’ll have lunch and then will be reporting to Mike’s class. After that, you should have Auruo and lastly Eld.” She paused a moment, “also in Eld’s class, the principal and vice principal should be coming in to introduce themselves. I know most of you have already met them, but they still like to make their appearances every now and again. Oh, also Molbit should be coming in during Eld’s period as well.” She explained before continuing with some of the classes we might learn from her during the years. 

She did specify that these were just general topics whereas most topics specific to each person's power is taught individually during the classes. Which Erwin seemed to explain a little in his class. She explained that since our class had 13 people in it then each teacher would spend roughly 12 minutes helping each student individually and 20 minutes on a general lesson.

After she finished explaining she let us talk amongst ourselves. They were right, today's classes only seemed to be about 20 minutes long. The teachers would use 10 to 15 minutes to describe the class and introduce themselves and the last 5 to 10 minutes they would let us get to know each other.

This would be great if I actually had someone to talk to during this time rather than just staring at a wall and praying the teachers don’t talk to me. Unlike the last two teachers Petra didn’t strike up a conversation with me rather she let me sit in my seat silently before dismissing the class.

I was so relieved that it was lunchtime until I realized that I swore I would make friends to hang out with at lunch. Mikasa and Armin were still swarmed with people who were getting to know them. Well, I think they were getting to know Mikasa and Armin was just following her around. I stood up and was about to see if Jean wanted to hang out at lunch. I saw him and Marco heading to the bathroom looking over their shoulders and decided that it would be best not to follow them.

I just made my way to the cafeteria. Apparently, these days were the only days it was used to actually eat. Most students went off campus for lunch most days. The cafeteria was only ever used by people to hang out in. Days like today where it was an all class schedule is apparently the only time people use it… Or so I overheard someone say as the walked passed me and headed to a table. I sighed and looked for an empty table.


	4. Lunch Time

I’ve never seen so many people in one room before. There was so much noise filling this room that I was tempted to just leave and see if I could find a quiet place to sit, but the only quiet place would be outside in the heat.

There was one table I saw that only had two people at it. They seemed to be kids from my class. Reiner and Bertholdt I think their names were. Maybe I could sit with them?

I slowly walked over. "Um hi, would you mind if I sat with you guys?" I asked quietly.

"Yes I would mind," Reiner said giving me a glare.

Bertholdt just stood up and shook my hand. "I'm Bertholdt you're Eren right?" He asked and I nodded. "You might not wanna sit here," he said a little quieter. "Reiner isn't the friendliest person," he said, giving me a heads up.

"Oh, okay."

"It was nice meeting you, and I'm sorry about his attitude," he said giving me a friendly pat on my shoulder. I thanked him and continued on my search for an empty table, but not before earning a nasty look from Reiner.

I saw a table across the room that looked empty from here. When I got closer I realized it wasn’t empty, there was a person sitting at it. Of course, it had to be that Levi guy. Well, I guess now is a better time than ever to introduce myself.

How bad could it be? I mean it couldn’t be worse than what just happened, could it?

I approached and as I got closer to the table I noticed something odd. He was reading a book, but he wasn’t touching the book. He was using his hands to eat his food and his book was just floating there in front of him. Well, I guess his power is some sort of telekinesis.

I also noticed that he was wearing headphones while reading. It’s hard for me to read a book while multitasking since I get too distracted, but here he is reading a book, listening to music, eating lunch, and using his power. It almost makes my head hurt thinking about it.

I stopped just in front of the table. "Um, hi," I said and the book fell out of the air and slammed down on the table. His eyes shot up to look at me.

"Sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if I could sit here?" I asked quietly even though everything inside me screamed to just turn and leave.

He stayed quiet with his eyes glaring into me before clicking his tongue. "Fine whatever," he groaned before his book rose back up.

"I'm Eren by the way," I said offering a friendly smile despite my brain yelling at me to shut up.

"I didn't ask." He didn't even seem to give me a second thought. All he did was raise his book a little higher so it blocked his face.

No wonder Jean couldn't get people to swap rooms with Marco this guy is a total jerk. Then again Erwin said that he's a good person when you get to know him… how would anyone ever get to know him when he doesn't give them a chance.

I just sat quietly to afraid to say anything until I saw him put his book down. I think he finished it. He didn’t say anything to me, he didn’t even bother looking up at me. As much as I wanted to stay silent, or even just leave, my mind kept telling me that I have to get to know him since I’m going to be sharing a dorm with him for the next few years...or at least until I can get another person to trade with me which sounds pretty much impossible. As much as I wanted to tell Jean that I’ve changed my mind I can’t bring myself to disappoint the only friend I’ve actually made so far. I have to make this work.

I watched him take his headphones out for a second as he put his book back in his bag.

This is my chance? Maybe Erwin was right I had to get to know him. The question is how? I mean he seems to have no interest in letting anyone near him.

I took a deep breath and decided to ask about something that might get him talking. “What book are you reading?”

“None of your business,” he replied in a less frustrated tone.

Or maybe Erwin is full of shit. I groaned mentally.

That’s weird, I swear I saw him smirk there? Is he having fun giving me a hard time? I’m thinking too hard into this.

“What do you want?” He asked and I just sat there in shock that he actually spoke to me unprompted.

“Well, I wanted to get to know you?” I said awkwardly. “Maybe we could be friends.”

“You’re so naive that it hurts.” He rolled his eyes before putting his headphones on again.

“I don’t need a friend, I don’t want a friend, I want to be left alone,” he said before turning his music back on.

Normally I’d give up at this point, but there’s something about this guy that makes me want to keep trying. If not to be his friend then to annoy the hell out of him. I mean if he’s going to be rude then I’ll just kill him with kindness… and well just be flat out annoying. Normally I’m too anxious to do that sort of thing, but this guy is just being a downright asshole who seems to enjoy causing me frustration.

“Well, too bad, because from now on I’m going to be your friend and you just have to deal with that,” I said pushing my anxiety aside. It didn’t work I just made sure my shaky hands were hidden under the table.

“Fucking great,” he rolled his eyes and turned his music up louder.

Cute he thinks that’s going to stop me. “So how was your day, friend?” I asked raising my voice so he could hear me.

“Shitty and getting worse,” He glared at me and turned his volume the rest of the way up.

I just smiled innocently at him. Well, let’s hope Erwin wasn’t full of shit and Levi eventually comes around. I don’t know how long I can keep this up without my anxiety getting the better of me.

I don’t think this is probably the best way to go about this, but I mean he’s left me no other choice. I will admit it’s a little fun to act like this. I never got to act like a kid and this attitude screams younger sibling. Not that I’ve ever had a younger sibling, but from people I knew their siblings always acted like this. I guess I’ve been too worried without how people are going to think of me that I never stopped and tried to have fun in a bad situation. Well, that ends today… hopefully.

I took a deep breath and spoke loud for him to hear, “I think we’re going to be the best of friends.”

“Fuck you,” I got back in return.

“I mean you could but that wouldn’t be a friend sorta thing more like a-.”

“Fucking shut up,” He cut me off really quickly with a surprised and embarrassed face. He put his head down on the table and covered his face. I swear I saw a faint pink on his cheeks. Checkmate.

I sat back and stayed quiet for the rest of lunch with a victorious smile on my face. When the bell rang Levi stood up quickly and left without looking back. “I mean we have the same classes, I don’t know how he thinks he’s going to get rid of me?

I grabbed my bag and headed to my next class. I walked in and found a few students already here. I made my way to the back and plopped myself down right next to Levi who just gave me a dirty look.

When I saw Jean walk in he was grinning from ear to ear. Well, that was until he looked at me and saw who I was sitting by. Instantly his face turned to confusion and worry. I just give him a shrug and an innocent smile. He shrugs back and just takes a seat a few rows in front of me with Marco trailing behind him.


	5. Classes

Our teacher walked in. If I remember correctly his name is Mike. “Good evening class, my name is Mike and my powers remote tracking. I have heightened smell and hearing.” He said before looking down at the familiar clipboard. He looked at Mikasa Armin and me, “welcome to my class,” he said before greeting us each by name. My first thought was to ask if he also had mind reading powers, but then I realized we just came back from lunch and the teachers had time to talk. Well, now I’m wondering if they talked about us what else did they say about us? I think I liked the idea of him being a mind reader better.

He started going over the same things other teachers have been going over. “If you ever need help finding something you can come to me,” he said with a shrug, “I mean people usually do anyway.”

After he finished explaining his power and his class material he dismissed the class to talk to each other. Like Petra, he didn’t approach me when I stayed silent at first. That was until I remembered I had a new friend right her next to me.

I turned my head and gave Levi a smile and I could tell he was actively trying to ignore anything I did when he turned his head away and closed his eyes.

“Hey friend,” I said leaning over closer to him so he could hear what I was saying over his music.

He stayed quiet this time but his closed eyes crinkled in annoyance.

“So whatcha listening to?” I asked and his eyes shot open and his eyes glared at me. He took a deep slow breath to probably try and calm himself. I could almost feel his frustration radiating off of him. At this point, I was feeling equally as frustrated I’ve been trying to be nice trying to get to know him and he’s just being a complete and utter prick about things… Woah, that was intense… Why did I get so frustrated over that? Unless… that wasn’t my frustration.

I just sat back a little confused trying to figure out what in the world just went through me. I looked back to Levi to see if he saw that flash of anger behind my eyes because that would be the last thing I want. When I looked at him he had his head lowered and his eyes closed as he was just taking some deep breaths. Maybe that really wasn’t my anger, maybe it was his. I thought his power was telekinesis maybe he had another power… I don’t know what this power is, but it’s a little scary feeling someone else's emotions run through you.

I just sat back and left him alone for the rest of the class. If those really were his emotions I didn’t want him feeling that mad. I just wanted him to open up, but earlier he did say he was having a shitty day, maybe he really meant it and I’m just making it worse? I don’t know but I think I’m done talking to him today since I seem to just be making things worse.

The bell sounded and Levi stood up and left so fast. I didn’t bother trying to follow him and when I got to our next class I sat two seats away to give him some space.

The teacher came in with a very big cocky smile on his face. “How’s it going everyone, we have some new faces in here today. For those of you who don’t know me well get ready to be amazed.” He smiled before introducing himself, “My name is Auruo, I can Understand and Write in every language,” he said proudly.”

“Yeah, but you can’t speak in them,” I heard that Reiner kid blurt out with laughter.

“Well, yes,” he said a little quieter before the cocky look returned to his face, “but knowledge is better than strength,” he said jabbing back at Reiner.

“Now, I’d like to welcome you three to this class and tell you a little about what we will be going over.” After hearing that I checked out. I had too much going on in my mind to listen to this. Besides, it’s more fun when the lessons are a surprise right? He spent longer talking about his classes than the other teachers, but there was still 5 minutes at the end where he sat back and let us all talk.

Mikasa and Armin actually walked over to me this time which I didn’t know whether to be thankful that they did or upset that I got pulled from my thoughts. “So I heard Petra and Auruo are a thing,” Armin whispered to us.

“Again with your rumors.” I rolled my eyes.

“Actually he’s right,” I heard a voice from behind us cut in. Apparently, Auruo was standing behind Armin.

“I’m um, I’m sorry,” Armin quickly stammered out before disappearing.

“It’s okay, no need to vanish on me kid,” he laughed, “just try to keep it a secret no one knows about us yet.

“Yes we do,” I heard at least 3 people from different sections of the room chime in.

“You do?”

“We’ve known since you started dating two years ago,” Sasha patted him on his shoulder.

“Oh.”

I just smile and then the bell rang signaling it was time for our last class. This one we were meeting 4 different people rather than just the teacher. This class was also supposed to be 30 minutes long rather than 20 for that very reason.

I grabbed my bag and walked slowly to my next class. Jean actually pulled me aside as we were heading to the class. “Hey, thought I’d give you a heads up you’re going to want to sit more towards the front of the class for this teacher.”

“Why?” I asked a little nervously. I don’t sit in the front ever.

“Because it’s kinda hard to hear him, he’s a bit more soft-spoken.” He said patting me on the back before running to catch back up with Marco.

“Thanks for the heads up,” I said after him before letting out an anxious sigh. I was anxious enough for this class and now I have to sit towards the front. Great, what can make this class any worse.

I walked in and took a seat in the middle of the class, it was the closest I could get to the front, but it seemed that it didn’t bother Annie who still was sitting a row behind me. It wasn’t the very back but she was definitely making a statement still that she wants nothing to do with any of us.

The teacher wasn’t in the room yet, but I just kept awkwardly watching the door waiting for this class to be over.

I was surprised when Levi came in and the seat next to me, but then again it was the last seat in the row. He left his headphones in, but I watched him shut off his music for the first time today that I know of.

After a moment of him sitting next to me, I saw out of the corner of my eye as he started fidgeting with his hands and tapping his fingers on the desk. That’s the first time I saw him do that.

He finally let out a groan. “Can you stop that?”

“Stop what, I’m not doing anything.”

“Shaking your foot and just being anxious as all hell.” He groaned. Wait… can he feel my emotions? I mean earlier I thought I felt his but can he also feel mine?”

“What?” I said again still not completely sure what was going on.

“I’m an empath I can feel strong emotions and yours are stressing me the fuck out.” He said with a groan.

“So that anger earlier was from you?” I knew it.

“Yes, I have telempathy, kinda I can't communicate with my emotions but pretty much everything else, and it’s because you were getting on my nerves.”

Wait so, you can feel my emotions and make people feel yours, but also have telekinesis?” I asked trying to understand his powers. I mean hell this is the most he’s opened up all day.

“I can do more than that but simply stating yes. Now could you cut it out.”

“Okay, but this makes us friends right?” I said with a smile.

“No, you know what fuck it I’ll move.” He said standing up right as the teacher walked in with the principal and vice principal. I watched as Levi slowly yet frustratedly sat back down.

I took one look at the people who just came in and felt my anxiety rise again. I instantly felt Levi elbow me clearly getting annoyed by my emotions. “Sorry,” I whispered. Before taking some deep breaths to try and calm myself. One more person walked in the room and I had to start the calming down process all over again.

“Hello everyone my name’s Eld, I can control what people say and silence them.” I heard one man say. Oh boy, Jean was right. It was hard to hear him from where I was sitting. If I did sit in the back I wouldn’t be able to hear anything.

“Hello, everyone. Most of you have seen us around, but we came in to introduce ourselves just in case some of you don’t know our names. I am Pixis, I’m the principal. I can create force fields.”

“I am Vice Principal Shadis, I can paralyze and inflict pain on people.” He said and Pixis was quick to speak up again.

“None of you have to worry about the pain infliction power though,” he laughed before gesturing to the last man.

“Hey everyone, I’m Molbit. I’m just a teachers Aid, I will be helping out in almost all of your classes.” He smiled before remembering something, “oh, I should also say that I don’t have any powers.”

Wait, did I hear that right? He doesn’t have any powers? How does he not have any powers and work here?

“I can see the confusion on some of the new faces in the room.” He laughed.

I just looked down at my desk. Shit didn’t think that I would be that obvious.

“Yes you heard right, I have no powers, however, I am more than capable of helping out around here and most of the teachers will actually use me to help in lesson demonstrations and even helping some of you guys learn how to use your powers.

Mikasa raised her hand. “Yes?”

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Very, but helping you all learn is what makes my job worth it.” He said giving her a smile.

Is this dude crazy? He could get killed! We’re not prepared enough to be using our powers on him that's why we’re in this damn school.

“Stop freaking out,” I heard Levi angrily whisper at me. Shit, my anxiety must be rising again. I took a few deep breaths trying to get over my fear for this guy. They finished their introductions and I just tuned out still worried about Molbits safety.

“He can take care of himself.” I heard a whisper next to me.

“Huh?”

“If you’re worried about Molbit then don’t be, he is more than capable of taking care of himself,” Levi said rolling his eyes at me. Damn, how accurate is he at reading emotion? I know I’m anxious and worried but how can he tell what I’m worried about… Never mind now that I think about it it’s actually pretty clear. I mean Molbit said that and that's when the worry kicked in. God, now I’m rambling in my thoughts and I haven’t been listening to a word being said.

Levi was rubbing at his temples and mumbling under his breath something about a headache. 

I tuned back in just to hear Eld speak up. “That’s some of the material we might be covering in my classes. You can now talk amongst yourselves.” He said before sitting down at his desk. When did the other three leave? Wait I’m so lost how long was I sitting here rambling in my head.

I just set my head down on the desk. I looked back to Levi who had pressed play turning his music back on. Him and those damn headphones. Maybe if he wasn’t so persistent about listening to music we could actually talk more. I mean we made progress the last time he turned them off. He even told me about his powers a little. I don’t know what he meant when he said he can do more than that, does he have another power that I don’t know about?

The bell rang and I shook off all the anxious emotions and the thoughts that were flooding my mind. I stood up and started heading back to my dorm. I needed a nap. I felt so drained from today. There was just so many social interactions and I just need some time to myself and to recharge. That last class especially had burned off the rest of my energy. I headed back to my dorm with my head down. I was dragging my feet. It felt like the closer I got the more tired I got. It was getting harder and harder to keep my head up and my eyes open.

I turned down my hall and bumped into someone their phone falling at my feet. Their headphones still attached and music still playing.

“I’m so sorry,” I said before leaning down and picking it up. I looked back up and what do you know the one person I had to run into was Levi. Of course it was I should have known by the headphones alone.

“You need to watch where you’re going.” He rolled his eyes at first.

“I know, I’m sorry,” I said quietly. I was too tired to try and do anything more than just apologize and be on my way.

“You look like shit, hell you feel like shit.” He pointed out.

“Yup,” I nodded quietly before shoving my hands in my pockets. I started to walk away when he spoke up again.

“Are you okay?” He asked with a weird look on his face.

“Yeah I’m fine, just tired,” I said calmly. Right now I was too tired to even ask him anything or try to get to know him in return I felt like if I stood out here for much longer I’d collapse on the spot. Everything just felt heavy. My eyes, my head, even the air felt heavy. It felt like there was a weight on my shoulders, no not metaphorically like physically.

He just stood there for a minute before walking behind me. At first, I was wondering where he was heading but then I remembered Jean saying he was in the dorm across from us.

I just pulled my key out and heading into my dorm not even bothering to look back out to see if Levi was going to his dorm or not. I collapsed down on my bed and felt instant relief. I had no energy to change into comfier clothes or even take my shoes off. I heard the door open a moment later and couldn’t even find the strength to lift my head.

“Oh, hey, are you heading to sleep?” Jean asked.

“Yeah, I’m exhausted,” I mumbled back using the rest of my energy to do so.

“Okay, I’ll try to keep it down,” he said before going over and sitting on his bed. That was the last thing I remember before completely blacking out.


	6. Late Night Walk

I opened my eyes to a dark room. I sat up before looking at the clock which read 12:06 am. I panicked a little realizing I had slept the rest of the day away. I looked over to Jean’s side of the room and saw him sleeping peacefully. I just slid out of my bed quietly before grabbing my shoes which I didn’t even remember taking off… wait I didn’t take them off. I remember not having enough energy to do so… did… did Jean take them off of me?

I just grinned as I quietly slid my shoes on. I grabbed my jacket and on my way out and slid my keys into the pocket. I quietly closed and locked the door behind me. The hallway was still lit. It was blinding despite the lights being dimmed a little. I waited for my eyes to adjust before heading down the hall and towards the door.

I had to go for a walk. First I had to process all the information from the day, or I should say now the previous day. I also have to tire myself out since now I’m wide awake. There were a few people out but most were in their dorms. I saw someone from my class and kept my head lowered. It was that Ymir girl. She was talking to herself in the courtyard. Well… I guess she wasn’t talking to herself since her power was seeing spirits, but I mean same thing right?

I started to walk past her when she stopped laughing and turned to look at me. “Hey you,” she said and I froze. Please be talking to a spirit please be talking to a spirit. I chanted. Nope, she got up and walked over to me.

“You’re name’s Eren right?” How'd she know that I had my back to her and my hood is up?

I just turned around and faced her. “Um yeah.”

“Oh, um, I don’t normally do this that often, but I have a message for you.”

“A message? From who?” I don’t know what is happening, but I can’t bring myself to just turn and leave.

“She says her name is Carla,” she said and I felt every muscle in my body tighten.

“Mom?” I whispered. I can’t believe this. I don’t believe this.

“She wanted me to tell you that she’s sorry her passing has put all this stress on you.” She said.

I couldn’t bring myself to answer it was taking every ounce of my will power to hold tears back. This couldn’t really be happening.

“She also says that she is so proud of who you’ve become and everything you’ve done to keep the family together.”

That did it. I broke down. I kneeled down knowing my legs wouldn’t be able to support me anymore. I don’t even know this girl and here I am reduced to nothing but a sniffling sobbing mess in front of her. “Sorry about that,” Ymir said before kneeling down next to me. She put her hand on my shoulder and just gave me a friendly smile.

“Thank you,” I mumbled. I didn’t know what else to say, I was glad to hear the message but it also hurt so much. I took a few deep breaths and got to my feet. I gave her a smile and went on my way. I just started walking with my head down. I didn’t know where I was going, but it was away from any people.

After mom died is when everything started to unravel. The night we got the news dad shut down. He couldn’t even tell us what happened all he could say was a work accident. It took a while for me to finally figure out what happened to her, and it wasn’t an accident. A few years later I ran into one of her coworkers who was able to tell me what happened. Apparently, a coworker had come in late one night planning on stealing from the company but that was the one and only night she stayed late to finish her work. She was stabbed with scissors repeatedly and then thrown down the stairs.

I can’t even tell myself her death was quick and painless because it wasn’t it was long and agonizing. I took a deep breath and thought back to her message. She’s sorry her death caused me stress? I mean sure it did, but why is she sorry it’s not like she chose to get killed. It’s not her fault. I don’t blame her never have never will.

Who I blame is dad. I mean don’t get me wrong, he was a great dad up until that point. After mom passed he started taking more hours at the hospital. He was homeless and less. We never got to see him. I was forced to do everything. Cook, clean, take care of Mikasa, ect. I worked my ass off made sure every meal was made, made sure the house was spotless every day. Made sure homework was done and double checked, even if I didn’t know the answer myself I was expected to help Mikasa with her identical sheet of homework.

Everything was put on me. All the responsibilities, all the work, all the chores. I was expected to care for everyone and take care of their emotions. That was a lot to put on a 9-year-old. I never even had time to grieve my own mother. She may have been Mikasa’s adoptive mother, and Dad’s wife, but she was my mom and I never got the chance to deal with my death.

With all that pressure on my shoulders, I guess it’s no surprise that my powers are levitation to counteract the weight on my shoulders I became weightless. It’s like gravity doesn't apply to me. 

“Are you okay?” I froze. I forgot I was still walking my thoughts were so focused on my mom and my power trigger that I walked and onto the field. Though that’s not even the strangers part, which is I know that voice.

I looked up my eyes still blurry since apparently, tears were still streaming down my cheeks. Great. “Yeah, I’m okay.” God dammit Eren could you sound any less convincing.

“Whatever you’re planning on doing don’t.”

“Huh?” I just froze for a second. What was that supposed to mean? “What-.”

“Nevermind. Now are you going to tell me what’s wrong or am I just supposed to believe that you're okay while you're walking aimlessly crying like a baby.”

“Like a baby?” I mumbled trying not to feel insulted since Levi is actually talking to me like a semi-normal person. I cleared my mind and it started going over on repeat of what I was just thinking about. Mom, power trigger, all that fun stuff. How was I supposed to explain this to him without whining like a baby, or breaking down again? “Stuff from the past,” I finally mumbled.

“Power trigger?” he asked and I felt my own muscles freeze up.

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Makes sense,” He paused for a minute his body language read hesitation. “If you need to talk about it I guess I’ll listen.” He said almost as if he had too.

I wanted to talk to him and get to know him, but not like this. I didn’t want to sit here and just vent to him for who knows how long it might take to unpack this trauma. “I’ll be okay, thank you for the offer though,” I said giving him a smile and by the look on his face, I was wondering if he could tell it was mostly faked. I really did appreciate the gesture but I couldn’t bring myself to even think about giving a genuine smile.

“Alright then,” he said with a shrug. “If you need me I’ll be over there,” he said pointing towards a blanket laying on the field.

“You’re inviting me to sit with you?” I asked mostly out of shock.

“Don’t get used to it. I just feel bad, probably because you’re shitty emotions are making me.” He said. His tone changed entirely. He went from sounding genuine to fake a response. Everything made sense now. He fakes being mean to keep people away!

“Pfft, as if.” He mumbled before walking away.

“Huh? Did you just say something?” I asked and he whipped his head around.

“No, I was reading my book,” he glared at me before going and sitting on his blanket.

His book was still on his blanket though? Wait what? I stood there for a moment before getting cut out of my thoughts.

“Are you just going to stand there like a lost puppy or-?” His voice drifted off.

“Oh, right,” I said walking over and sitting down. I should have expected this. The second I was thrown back into silence my brain started going back over everything. Mom’s message to me. How she died. What happened after she died. How my powers came to be. Repeat. My mind was on a loop. I couldn’t break it I couldn’t free myself.

“Hey, are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay,” I said pulling my knees closer to my chest.

“Bullshit,” he whispered, putting his book down and turning to face me.

“Thank you for trying to help but I need to go to bed,” I said before standing up really quickly. I felt his hand grab my wrist and I looked back at him.

“Look, whatever is going through your head right now isn’t good and it’s hurting you, just don’t act on that hurt okay?” he said before letting my wrist go.

“What does that mean?”

“Nevermind,” he sighed before mumbling, “you’ll know when you need to know.”

What is that supposed to mean I walked away and headed back to my dorm room. I got ready for bed and slipped under the covers. All these previously suppressed emotions now filling my head once again. Well, one mission accomplished, not only did I tire myself out, but I exhausted myself. However, not in the way I wanted. I wanted to be physically tired not mentally. I wanted to be able to lay down and fall right asleep, not sit here in torment as I try and get my thoughts to shut up. Maybe I can make them shut up. For good.

Wait. What? Where did that come from? I haven’t had thoughts like these since mom died since the stress started since I was suicidal. No, these thoughts need to go away. I refuse to think about this anymore.

I laid down and then it hit me like a ton of bricks. “Don’t act on that hurt.” Levi had said. I said up. “He knew,” I mumbled. How could I be so oblivious? That’s why he was being so nice, well nicer than normal, why he was talking to me, why he kept telling me not to do what I was planning. He feels emotions and he could feel what I was feeling just a second ago.

I took a deep breath and needed to calm myself down. I’m panicking I have to tell him that I’m okay that I won’t do such a thing no matter how much I’m hurting. I have to.

“Eren? Eren what’s wrong?” Shit now I’ve woke Jean up.

“I’m fine,” I said through panicked breaths.

“Like hell you are,” he said turning on the light and running over to me.

He sat on the bed next to me and just held my hand as I got my breathing under control. Apparently, I was hyperventilating and that woke him up. When I finally was able to breathe normally, I told him I was okay now and that it was just a bad dream.

Surprisingly he believed that and didn’t ask any further questions. Not even why my clothes had changed from the ones I was sleeping in earlier. I know he noticed, but maybe he assumed I got up and changed or just didn’t want to press me further.

I took a deep breath and laid back down. Jean had gone back to sleep in nothing flat. Despite me feeling absolutely exhausted I couldn’t bring myself to sleep just yet. It took a while but eventually, my eyes did close, but when that was I don’t remember. All I remember is waking up with a major headache to my alarm.


	7. Plant Manipulation

I got ready and headed to my class. My schedule today was Hanji’s class from 9-12, lunch, then Eld’s class from 1-4. I headed to the classroom even though I was a little early. It’s not like I had anyone to hang out with, in the halls. I walked in the room and a few people were already in the room. I noticed Levi sitting towards the back. Hanji was talking to him. I just quietly made my way back to the seat next to his. I wanted to explain that I was okay since I probably worried him last night. Hanji had walked up to the front of the class a minute later.

“Um, hey,” I said awkwardly.

He paused as he was about to put his headphones in. He stopped and set them on his table for a minute. “Hi.”

Well shit, he actually answered me. “Um, it finally clicked what you were trying to tell me last night,” I said awkwardly fidgeting. I took a deep breath to try and stop my anxiety from affecting him, but it seems my effort was in vain since I noticed his leg start shaking. Shit, “sorry I know I’m anxious I’ll try and stop.” I mumbled. “Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for the warning and sorry if I worried you I haven’t felt like that in a long time and I don’t plan on acting on those feelings… ever.” Never again. I smiled shoving back the memories of years ago.

“Good,” he said before picking up his headphones. He stopped again and looked back at me. “Don’t get used to this, I just don’t want anyone to die, even if they are as annoying as you,” he said before putting his headphones on. He didn’t even put any music on.

He sat there with a grin on his face like he just won something. What a prick. One day he will be my friend.

“What?” he said pulling his headphones out.

“I didn’t say anything,” I said awkwardly wondering why he was making that shocked face.

“You- I just- you were staring at me weird that’s all,” he said before putting his headphones on and cranking his music. He laid his head on his desk and I couldn’t help but wonder what the hell just happened. I know what face I was making, it was my normal face. I don’t remember making a face… did I?

I just sat back and looked to the front of the room. Hanji was sitting there staring at me with a weird smile. I just shrunk in my chair and I guess she took that as a sign to approach.

“So you’ve made a friend I see.” She said placing a hand on my shoulder.

“Like hell, he has,” Levi cut in ripping out his headphones. Wait why does he always have headphones in if he can hear what people say over the music? Maybe it helps with his power? But how?

“Well, you were sure talking like friends a minute ago.” She smiled at him.

“No, I was telling him to go fuck himself,” Levi said glaring at her.

“Sure you were,” she patted his shoulder. Anyway, I wanted to let you Erwin and I have a meeting at lunch today so you won’t be able to eat lunch in our rooms again today.”

“That’s fine,” he mumbled putting his headphones back in and mumbling awkwardly, “don’t you have a class to teach?”

“Ah, yes that’s right,” she said happily before walking up to the front.

“Good morning class!” she greeted as the last student look their seat.

I wanted to give you all a heads up that next class we will be discussing a more serious and personal topic. We will be going over power triggers. I want everyone to know that this classroom will remain a safe zone and that any remark that is even the slightest out of line will not be tolerated. You have a week to prepare yourselves.”

The class was dead silent. I’m surprised that they would go over such a serious topic in a class setting, but then again at the same time, I’m not.

“There will be time at the end of class to share out, however, you aren’t going to be forced to share, but sharing is recommended since sharing can help you more than you know.” Everyone’s head was down and you could hear a pencil drop from across the room.

“Well, anyway, today we will be going over plant manipulation.” Wait isn’t that her power?

I guess I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t the only one confused cause Reiner raised his hand. “Why are we going over your powers?”

“Well if you were paying attention at all yesterday you would remember all of your teachers telling you that we would be going over powers and how people with these powers chose their paths and how there can be different strains of powers. More specifically how we were starting with our own to give you a more accurate example and demonstration.” She folded her arms raising an eyebrow. “Any of that ring a bell?”

Reiner just put his head down. I felt the need to do the same since I didn’t listen to any of that yesterday. I kept a straight face, pretending I didn't just feel that wave of embarrassment.

"Now, like I said we are going over plant manipulation." She said before grabbing a leaf from the plant on her desk. She grabbed her hair pulled it up and vines wrapped her hair up into a ponytail. She grabbed the two glass lenses on her desk and held them in front of her eyes as the leaves wove around them into glasses.

"Now that that's taken care of let's begin."

"That wasn't a demonstration?" I heard Mikasa ask.

"No, she does that every class period," Sasha said.

"Oh, I also want to take the time to tell you all that if you have any questions just say them out no need to raise your hands almost all classes are open discussions during lessons."

"Now," she said sitting on her desk and bringing her legs up crossing them. "There are many different types of plant manipulation," she started. "Some people can only manipulate certain plants others can manipulate all plants like myself. Some people can only grow fruit others can't grow fruit at all." She said before demonstrating her ability to grow fruit. She grew some grapes right there in front of the whole class using only the plant on her desk.

“However, some people, like myself can only grow certain fruits,” she shrugged. “I can only grow grapes. Now some people can grow flowers and some people can’t. I can grow flowers, but only roses and carnations.”

“People also tend to specialize in certain plants, others can manipulate all plants. Even people who can manipulate other plants can still excel in one more than the others like myself.” She paused for a second. “I specialize in vines more than anything else, however, I can still manipulate other plants, but not to the same extent,” she clarified.

She continued explaining about the different types of powers people can have before discussing what career paths people tend to take.

"Most of them work at gardening centers or farms. Others teach about plant biology," she said before smiling. "And then there's me! Who has an amazing class filled with amazing students who I have the honor of teaching!" She said happily.

"Well anyways, Imma start walking around and helping you each individually. Most people just start talking some were writing down the leftover notes. We weren’t tested on these things, but I do know that some people like to get to know others powers and how they work. We don’t have tests aside from personal tests of our abilities and how far we’ve come from when we first started and they don't really grade those.

Hanji made her way around the room. She’d call kids up to her desk and work with them while the rest of the class did whatever we pleased as long as it wasn’t too loud. This is not at all what I thought classes would be like, I imagined them much more stress-inducing rather than being this laid back, but then again some teachers might be different. As long as none of the teachers decide to teach students in front of the whole class with everyone watching it can’t be as bad as I imagined.

After a while of just sitting here basically staring at a wall, I finally decided to pull out a notebook and start writing. I always loved writing and it was a great way to pass the time. It was a way to look like your doing something while creating worlds and people. These worlds were always better than reality and the people were nicer.

“Eren,” Hanji called and I jumped a little as I was pulled back to reality. I stood up and walked up to her desk.

“Alright, so your power was levitation right?” She asked.

“Yeah.”

“Okay, do you mind showing me?” She asked her tone respectful almost as if she was giving me the option to say no.

“Um, sure,” I said before levitating slightly off the floor. Not enough to alert the whole class to my power but enough to show her.

“Hmm, I see,” she said before writing down some notes her face held that same confused look as when she was writing our powers down the first time. Who and I kidding she only made that face writing about my power.

“What’s that?” I asked hoping maybe she would tell me what she wrote.

“Oh, they are just notes of what I might be able to help you with. Today is me just getting to know your powers and getting a feeling of how they work.

“How they work?”

“Yeah, some people have different strains of the same powers, like hmm.” She thought for a second before looking back up at me. “Like Mikasa and Reiner. Or even Connie and Reiner. Or even you and Levi.” She said naming a few.

“I don’t think I understand?” I said trying to figure out what Levi and I have in common when it comes to powers.

“Well, Reiner and Mikasa both have strength, however, Mikasa’s strength is a lot stronger than Reiner’s. As for Connie and Reiner, they both have speed but Connie’s is faster than Reiner’s. They have the same power but different strands. Then there are people like you and Levi who have different powers but have the same outcome in certain areas. He has telekinesis and levitation. You can both lift yourselves off the ground and float but you do it in different ways. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, I guess,” I said giving her a nod.

“So how do you levitate?”

“Huh? I mean I just do it?” I said.

She laughed a second, “When I say how I mean how does it feel do you use your mind to lift yourself up or do you use your hands? Where do you feel your power focused at? What do you feel when you do it?” She said specifying.

“I don’t really know.” I said trying to think about it, “do you mind if I use my power to see?”

“Go for it!” She smiled.

I lifted myself off the ground and focused on where I was feeling my power the most. “Well, I feel it in my hands and feet, and sort of in my chest.”

“Okay, and what does it feel like?”

“Almost as if I’m weightless. Like gravity doesn’t apply to me.” I said before lowering myself back down as I noticed some people start to stare at me.

“I see,” she said before making that same face as she wrote more notes. I wasn’t even focused on her anymore as my eyes caught Levi’s who was looking right at me. He looked away a second later, but he wasn’t the only one staring.

I pulled my hood up and slouched a little. There was that feeling of weight on my shoulders again. It’s almost like my anxiety physically manifesting.

“Are you feeling alright?” She asked and I looked back to her.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure you seem a bit nervous.”

“I just don’t like people staring at me, that's all,” I whispered my voice getting lower and lower as I spoke.

“I get it, next time we can go out in the hall if you want,” she said and I nodded gratefully.

“That's peculiar,” she mumbled to herself.

“What is?”

“Huh, oh nothing, I just thought of something that’s all.” She smiled before writing more notes down. God, I hate that notepad more than I hate myself and I’m suicidal. Well, I used to be, but whatever my point still stands. Eventually, I need to find out what’s on that damn notebook.

“Alright, I think that’s all for now,” she smiled and dismissed me back to my seat. I sat down slouching feeling a little embarrassed some people were still staring at me, or at least I thought they were maybe it’s just my mind making things up. I laid my head down on my desk and just waited for lunch.


	8. Headphones

After what felt like an eternity the bell rang and I made my way to lunch. I walked to the cafeteria and there were a lot of open tables today. However, I saw Levi sitting at one and decided that I was going to sit next to my new friend.

I walked over and plopped down in at the lunch table across from him. “Hey friend,” I said, giving him a smile.

“I told you not to get used to this,” he rolled his eyes pulling his headphones out.

“Too late. Anyway, did you like what you seen in class?” I asked with a suggestive smirk.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” He glared.

“Oh please, I saw you staring at me. I just don’t know why.”

“I wanted to know if you were actually so airheaded that you’d float. Turns out I was right!” He said with a sarcastic smile. Finally, a smile, even if it is a sarcastic one I’m still counting it! He’s totally warming up to me.

“In your dreams,” he mumbled.

“What?” Okay, I’m not imagining this anymore.

“Nothing.”

“No it’s not nothing, you’re responding to stuff that I’m not saying out loud. You’re a mind reader.”

“Am not,” he rolled his eyes again.

Yes, you are.

“I told you I’m not.”

“Really, cause I just thought yes you are and you responded as if I said it out loud.” Checkmate.

He just took a deep breath and put his headphones back in.

“So you are a mind reader, why tell me your other powers but deny this one.”

“Because people ask too many questions. Like, have you been reading my mind the whole time? Why would you do that? Why can’t you mind your own business? Stuff like that. Now leave me alone.”

“Wait, I only have one question,” I said and he let out a groan.

“Fine, what?” He said pulling his headphones out again.

“Does wearing headphones help with your powers? I’m just curious because I see you wearing them all the time.”

He just paused for a minute. “No one’s ever asked that before. Why do you care?”

“Well, I’m just curious. I mean I really am just trying to be friendly.” Does he really not get that I want to be his friend I mean I’m trying so hard. Wait he can hear my thoughts shut up Eren. I looked back up at him feeling a little awkward. My hand went up to rub the back of my neck.

“Why do you think I wear the headphones?” He asked his voice is a lot calmer.

“I don’t know. I just thought that maybe with the headphones in you can’t hear people's thoughts. I notice you only react to what I think when the headphones are out.”

“Pretty much,” he nodded. “Everyone thinks I have perfect control over my powers. I don’t. I wear the headphones because that power doesn’t have an on and off switch like everyone else's. You can levitate whenever you want, but you can still return to the ground when you want to. The voices never stop. You know how hard it is to try and hear my own thoughts when I’m trying to hear over everyone else's. The music stops the other voices from coming through. I’d rather have to compete with the music rather than 30 other voices.” He stopped himself, realizing he was rambling.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said picking his headphones up again.

Please don’t. He paused at my thought. “Don’t put them back in.”

“Why not?”

“Because for once I’m getting to know you, I really do want to be your friend.”

“Look you’re barking up the wrong tree. Like I told you when you first sat here I don’t want friends, I don’t need friends.” With that, he put his headphones back on and raised the volume until I could hear his music from clear across the table.

I just gave up for the day. I mean at least I got to know a little bit more about him, and that explains why he was saying those things when I never said anything to start with. I just got up and headed to my next class. He seemed a little surprised that I was actually leaving, but in all honesty, I didn’t have enough energy to try and bug him any more than I already had. I had to save up the last bit of energy for the next class. I don’t know how I’m going to make it through another 3 hours. I feel unsteady on my feet already everything just feels heavy thinking about it.

“Hey, you feeling okay?” Jean said putting a hand on my shoulder snapping me out of my thoughts.

“Yeah, the air just feels really heavy here for some reason.

“Oh, you feel that too?” He asked.

“I thought it was just me. Anyway, what are you doing just standing out here aren’t you heading in?”

“It’s not class time thought?”

“Yes it is, the bell rang like 3 minutes ago.”

“Oh.” I must have tuned it out. “I need to pay more attention,” I shrugged it off.

“Are you sure you’re okay.”

“Yeah, just a little tired.”

“Alright, oh also before I forget your request went through for the room change!” He said excitedly, “you should be moving rooms tomorrow. They processed it a lot faster than I thought they would.”

“Great, I can’t wait,” I said with a half smile. “I’m sure you’re really excited.”

“I really am, thanks so much for this, I owe you one big time.” He said and I just shook my head.

“Your friendship is enough,” I smiled.

We headed into class Jean took his seat next to Marco and I took the same seat I did last time since it was one of the only seats left. Well, that one and the one next to it. Levi walked in and I watched him look at the seat next to me and roll his eyes even though he started making his way over to it anyway. He sat down and left his headphones in until Eld came in the room. He pulled them out and left them on his desk.

“Good evening class,” Eld greeted us and I had to lean in to try and hear.

“Today we’ll be going over my powers I guess,” he said quietly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

He started going over his power and I was leaning forward as much as I could and could still barely hear him. It was hard to hear what he was saying but I got the gist of what he had said. When he finally started calling people up. He, unlike Hanji, took the students out into the hallway. Probably so they could hear him in the dead quiet rather than have to hear over other students whispering.

“How can you hear him from back here?” I asked Levi before he had a chance to put his headphones back in.

“I can hear his thoughts from here. It’s hard to pick out his from the others, but enough concentration and I can do it.”

“Oh, I see.”

“It would be easier if I was closer.”

So his powers work better if he is closer to a person.

“I just said that.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled. I couldn’t keep my head up anymore and just laid my head on the desk.

“If you fall asleep I’m not waking you up.”

“I’m not going to fall asleep.” I closed my eyes and just let my mind wander. I let my thoughts flow freely trying to distract myself from the thoughts that have been plaguing my mind for the first time in years. You can end this suffering my brain screamed at me. I sat up quickly and took a deep breath trying to clear my mind again. These thoughts are so annoying. Why did this all have to come back up? I was doing better and here I am sucked back into it as if nothing has changed.

“You okay?” Levi said and I looked at him. That’s when I realized that he never put his headphones back on.

“I um-.”

“Eren,” Eld said poking his head in the room.


	9. No Energy

“Coming,” I said shooting up and walking away. How was I supposed to answer him? I mean he just read my thoughts he knows the answer lying to him wouldn’t work.

I made my way into the hall and Eld gave me a smile. “I know you’ve already shown your power to Hanji, but would you mind showing it to me?”

“Um no I don’t mind,” I said awkwardly still trying to shake off what just happened. I took a deep breath and… nothing. My feet were still on the ground. “Sorry,” I laughed. I took another deep breath and tried again and… still nothing. “I-I don’t know what’s going on,” I mumbled trying one more time. Still no levitation.

“If you don’t want to that’s okay.”

“No, I want to it’s just my power isn’t working for some reason.”

“Interesting,” he said crossing his arms and tapping his fingers against his bicep. “Are you experiencing any negative emotions?”

“Um, I guess, I am. Why?”

“Well, some student’s powers are linked to their emotions. Maybe you can only levitate when you’re experiencing positive or neutral emotions.”

“Oh, sorry,” I mumbled.

“Don’t be sorry, that’s actually a great thing to find out this early on.” He said patting me on the shoulder. “I think that’s all for us for today I need to write down some notes of stuff we can work on in the future.” He said and I nodded before heading back in the class.

I took one look at Levi who had his headphones in now and let out a sigh of relief. I took a seat and laid my head on the desk before closing my eyes. I pulled my hood over my face and felt the tears sting my eyes. That was so embarrassing. Not only did Levi hear my suicidal thoughts and my brain just being a complete asshole, but now my power refuses to work. I stayed quiet as the tears ran down my cheeks.

I just shut my eyes tight and prayed for class to end. I knew there was still two hours left of the class, but it didn’t stop me from hoping they had flown by already. I heard Levi’s chair move as he got up. Eld must have called him. I let out another sigh of relief now he wouldn’t be able to feel my emotions or read my mind at least. I felt a hand on my back a second later.

“Get up and come with me,” Levi said and I didn’t have enough energy to argue.

I stood up and Levi grabbed my hand and lead me out of the class past Eld who just gave us a nod and to the bathroom down the hall. I don’t know why all of the sudden these last two days I’ve been so out of energy. It’s never been this bad before well aside from when I first got my powers and the whole time I was living at home. When we got in there my legs gave out and I fell to my knees hard. They crashed against the tiles and the sting in my knees which would surely be bruised later sent a shock up my spine. I heard Levi wince probably at the pain that I just felt.

I looked up at him he was at the sink dampening some paper towels. I could see his face reflected in the mirror. It looked like he had been crying and I was wondering why at first and then I realized he was feeling my emotions. I didn’t have enough energy to speak and since he didn’t have any headphones on I knew he would hear me anyway. I’m sorry.

“Don’t apologize.”

But you’re crying because of me.

“Who cares.”

I do. You even had to hear what was going on in my head that’s the last thing I want anyone to hear let alone feel. You aren’t feeling like that right?

“Seriously Eren it’s fine, it’s not the first time someone made me feel like that.” He said before realizing what he said. “Forget I said that,” he added quickly.

I’m sorry.

“Stop apologizing.” He said before turning towards me towels in hand. He squatted down and started rubbing the tears from my face.

Why are you being so nice? I thought you didn’t want friends.

“I said I didn’t want friends or need them, but you clearly need a friend right now, and right now I don’t see anyone else,” he sighed.

“No do you want to tell me why you’re feeling like this. Or why everything is so heavy when I’m around you, you always feel like your getting dragged down.”

Funny Jean said the same thing earlier. Maybe eld was onto something when he said my powers are linked to my emotions. When I’m happy I can levitate when I’m not maybe the air around me just gets really heavy.

 

“I don’t know, but wouldn’t that only affect you, you said Jean felt it too. That doesn’t seem normal for the powers you’re describing. Besides wouldn’t you have noticed this before.”

I have noticed this sort of thing before, but I just thought it was my imagination.

“You’re a dumbass.” He sighed before throwing the paper towels away. “So all of these emotions are just emotions you’ve been repressing for years and they all just came back up after what Ymir said to you last night well, that and the embarrassment you got from your power not working?” He asked.

“Yeah, how’d you know that.” I finally asked out loud.

“I read your thoughts last night and bits and pieces are starting to come together between right now and yesterday.” he shrugged.

“I mean I’m feeling better now. I think I just needed to let it out. I'll be okay now.” I said before forcing myself to my feet as every ounce of my body screamed in agony as I lifted myself off of my bruising knees.

“Ouch,” Levi said looking at me. “You’re going to want to put ice on those, or maybe see Hanji. Actually, on second thought I wouldn’t go to Hanji she might get the wrong idea.”

“What do you mean?”

“Bruised knees that probably have scratches and or friction burns from the hard impact may look like you were doing something else,” Levi said bringing his hand up to his mouth and pressing his tongue up against his cheek signaling he was talking about a blow job.

Oh god, I thought taking a deep breath. Haven’t done one of those yet. Shit. I looked up at Levi who tried to choke down a laugh.

“You’re thoughts are really something. You just came out to me on accident.”

“I take back what I said earlier, please wear headphones,” I said putting my head in my hands.

“What, you like being able to annoy me and get in my head but can’t take it when I’m in your’s?”

“It’s different. I’m not literally in your head. Half the time I don’t even know what your thinking.”

“Hmm, well to bad maybe I will leave my headphones out for the rest of class.”

“Whatever,” I sighed before limping back to class. God my knees were killing me. Levi followed me back. We bumped into Eld who had just finished up with a student and was writing down notes.

“Hello boys,” he said, giving us a nod, “everything okay now?”

“Seems so.” Levi nodded.

“That’s good.”

Levi walked back in the class and I followed him in. “What did you tell him?” I asked as we sat back down.

“Well, I just said that you were having a hard time and that you needed to go to the bathroom to calm your nerves. I think he put two and two together when he saw the tears in my eyes despite me not looking even a little sad.”

“Oh,” I said laying my head down on my desk. I felt wiped. All of my energy was gone from crying. God, I hate it when I cry, not only do I get a headache but also I get so exhausted.

“Hey, remember what I said, I’m not waking you if you fall asleep,” Levi mumbled.

“I know. I’m trying to stay awake.” I said despite my eyes already closing.

Next thing I knew there was a hand on my shoulder. “Eren, Eren wake up.” I heard someone say. I sat up and look Levi straight in the eyes. “Class is over.” He said before standing up.

“I thought you weren’t going to wake me up.”

“Whatever, just be grateful I didn’t do it by knocking you upside the head like I wanted too.” He said before standing up and walking away.

I headed to my dorm room and immediately laid down. I was still exhausted despite sleeping the last hour of class. Jean came in a moment after as I was changing. This time I actually had enough energy to change into pajamas.

“Nice boxers,” Jean said before heading over to his side of the room. He stopped and did a double take. “Oh damn, who was the lucky guy?” He asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean your knees scream blow job,” Jean laughed, “You didn’t give one to Levi did you? I saw you sneak out of class with him.”

“What no.” I rolled my eyes. “I collapsed in the bathroom,” I said before realizing how bad that sounded.

“What why?”

“I just haven’t been feeling well I haven’t had energy lately.”

“Um, alright, well I hope you feel better.” He said and I nodded as I pulled up my sweats. 

“Thanks."

"Why did you leave with Levi?" He asked as he seemed to think about it.

"Eld sent him to grab me I had left my notebook in the hall with him."

"Oh," Jean said. I could tell by his tone he didn't buy my lie even in the slightest, but that was the good thing about Jean, he never presses. 

“Now Imma get some rest and hopefully, that will fix things.”

“Good luck.”

Jean’s words made me think. He thought I gave Levi a BJ in the middle of school. How absurd who would do that… Well, I guess he and Marco would since I’ve seen them sneak into the bathrooms at lunch the last few days. Well, I mean I don’t think I’d mind all that much. Levi is pretty hot. Dude shut up what am I thinking. He hates me I mean the last two days he’s either gotten so annoyed with me or acted like a fucking babysitter. I just let out a sigh and rolled over.

“Goodnight dude,” Jean said.

“Goodnight.” I closed my eyes and tried to get my head off of Levi. Now that I think about it my thoughts have been the same few things lately. It’s either anxiety and depression, or Levi. I’m only ever happy thinking about one of these things. I pushed my thoughts away and let myself drift off but not before my mind could picture Levi’s face.


	10. Suicide Cliff

Once again I woke up to a pitch-black room. God, I really need to fix my sleep schedule. I looked at the clock and sure enough, it was 12:13 in the morning. I sat up and grabbed some clothes and headed into the bathroom to change.

When I came out Jean’s light was on and he was looking at me with a concerned look. “Are you heading out again?”

“Um, yeah.” I didn’t think he knew I was up yesterday, but apparently, he must have noticed I was gone at one point.

“Be safe,” I heard him very faintly mumble.

“I will, thanks.” I headed out of the room and started on the same path I did yesterday. I was still thinking about what Jean said. I knew what he meant. Hell, everyone who goes to this school knows what he means.

Just because I switched to the upper classes doesn’t mean I don’t know the stories. There are always stories of the students who leave at night and don’t come back. According to the stories the students just vanish, the reality isn’t as nice. In reality, they leave in the middle of the night and walk a mile to the cliff on the outside of town and jump. Police patrol the cliff and there’s always an officer standing watch, but one officer isn’t enough to watch the whole cliff. The number of “disappearances” as they call them have gone down in recent years.

The last person I remember “disappearing” was two years ago he was in my class, Thomas, I think his name was. He was a really nice kid, but he never learned to deal with his trauma properly, or at all for that matter. No one ever really knew his background. All we knew is he didn’t talk about it. It’s a shame I never really talked to him more than once or twice. If he would have just opened up to people maybe he’d still be here.

Then again, I’m not really one to talk about opening up. Hell, I could have ended up just like him if I gave into my intrusive thoughts. Hell, I could still end up like him. I know I’ve made promises that I would never do that, but my thoughts are worse than ever and I’m just so tired. Maybe-.

I stopped when I saw a familiar person in my path. “For fuck's sake sit down,” Levi rolled his eyes glaring at me. He was sitting on a blanket on the field.

I stood still for a moment I wasn’t sure what he heard, but hearing any of that would be bad.

“Sit your ass down,” he said in a scarier voice and I listened to this time. I sat down on the blanket next to him pulling my knees close to my chest. “Of course I heard what you were just thinking your thoughts are loud as hell and annoying how could I not hear.” He rolled his eyes before taking a breath and looking back to me. “So am I going to have to babysit you every night to make sure you don’t do anything stupid?” He asked. He phrased it to sound less serious, but I could hear the sincerity in his voice.

“No, I’ll be fine.”

“Don’t lie to my face dipshit,” he said and I had to stop myself from laughing. It’s not that this was any way funny. Well, aside from the fact I thought that lie would work on Levi despite him hearing my thoughts.

“Don’t forget feeling your shitty emotions,” He rolled his eyes. “Now I’m going to ask this again, do I need to babysit your ass every night.”

I took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes as I spoke this time. “No, something I was thinking about just triggered my thoughts. I'll be okay now that those thoughts have been interrupted." I forced a weak smile before remembering he would know if it’s forced or not.

He looked at me for a moment before nodding. “Okay, good,” he sighed, “the last thing I want to do every day is see your ugly ass.”

“Wow,” I said rolling my eyes letting a real smile slip onto my face. “I think my ass looks nice.”

“You’re annoying,” he said, laying back on his blanket looking up at the night sky.

"Yeah, I know," I said with a smile. Funny I've never smiled at being called annoying before but then again I've never fallen asleep thinking about- Levi get out of my head. I said catching myself before accidentally letting him in on what I fell asleep thinking about.

"Awe but that was just getting good," he said sitting up.

"What don't want me knowing your dirty little secrets?"

"No."

"Awe but isn't that what friends do?" He teased.

"I thought you didn't want to be friends," I looked at him.

"I don't but you're hell-bent on it. Don't you tell all your little friends your secrets?"

"No." They never ask. Come to think of it they don't really check up on me anymore. Hell, they don't even know I'm struggling. They probably never knew.

"Hey look, I was just joking please don't go spiraling back down the rabbit hole again," Levi said sitting up.

"Sorry," I gave him a smile before taking a deep breath. I looked in his eyes and my stomach had a weird tingly feeling before I made myself look away.

Before I could even pray that Levi didn't feel that too he blurted out "what the fuck was that?"

"I'm just hungry," I sighed thinking about how I haven't eaten since lunch and hell I barely touched my food then. I forced all other thoughts away of what that just was and stood up.

"Anyway, I never asked you what you're doing out here so late. That is if you want to answer me."

"In my dorm, I have to wear headphones all night long. Marco's thoughts are loud and annoying. But coming out here everything's quiet at night. No people mean no thoughts. It's peaceful. That and the sky is absolutely breathtaking at night." He said with a small smile and I could feel pure joy radiating off of him it made me smile too. That was until he realized he was smiling and he forced himself to stop.

"I see, that's why you never have headphones on out here," I said and he nodded. "Oh, that means these last two nights I've been crashing your quiet time," I mumbled.

"Yeah it's really annoying," Levi said and I felt really guilty.

I took a deep breath realizing I shouldn't be here right now and that I wasn't wanted here. "It's late I'm going to head back," I mumbled before forcing myself to my feet.

"Hey wait," he said grabbing my wrist.

"Hey I was just joking with you don't get all butthurt all of a sudden," he sighed. "I come out here for a different reason too," Levi said and I turned around to hear what he had to say. " Two years ago a kid who went to our school came out here and walked to suicide cliff and ended his life. You were actually thinking about him earlier.

Thomas, "what about it?"

"Well, you have to pass the field to get to the cliff. And as I told you before, I don't want anyone to die."

"So you sit out here every night and wait for people who are in a bad mindset?" I asked before sitting back down next to him.

"Yeah."

"Have you ever had to talk anyone down?"

"Aside from you, no. Most people see someone in the way and turn around and head back to their dorms." He said with a relieved sigh.

So when he said that I'm not the first person to make him feel like that, he meant all these other people.

"No-yes. It's complicated." He sighed "Besides I told you to forget I said that."

"Sorry."

"You apologize a lot."

"Yeah sorry about that," I said before closing my eyes and taking a deep breath realizing how stupid I sounded. "Force of habit."

"Yeah you can say that again," he laughed.

I smiled watching him laugh. He looked genuinely happy right now. I just couldn't figure out why he was so nice to me at night despite hating my guts during the day.

He stopped laughing. "I don't hate you." He said with a plain expression if I didn't know any better I would have thought I saw him wince at my thought. "I mean I think you're annoying but I don't hate you," he said, quickly adding that statement and looking away from me. "I'm just more comfortable when I'm not surrounded by people and don't have to fight their thoughts that's all. I guess you can say I'm in a better mood or whatever."

"So are you telling me we can only be friends at night," I asked with a smug grin.

"No," He said rolling his eyes. "Didn't you say it was late and that you should head back?" He asked laying back down and rolling to his side so he could ignore me.

"That was until you pulled me back basically begging me to stay."

"I never did such a thing. You were acting all pathetic and butthurt and I just didn't want you crying like a baby that's all." He said before letting out an annoyed huff.

"I mean fine if you're going to pout then maybe I will go back to my dorm."

"Good, get lost."

"Fine, just try not to miss me too much," I said with a smirk and gave him a wink despite knowing he couldn't see me.

"In your dreams."

You will be. Wait that wasn't what I wanted to say. Shit. Well, that's awkward.

"If you do dream of me then dream of me punching that stupid shit-eating grin off your face," Levi said with a plain tone.

"Goodnight Levi." Thank you. I thought before heading back to my room. I felt much better after talking to him. Then again I've noticed that I always feel better after talking to him. Even if all he does is insult me.

I really want to be his friend, but what the hell were those feelings back there. Why did my stomach get all tingly? Why did I almost admit to him that I fell asleep thinking of him? Why was I acting so weird? Why did talking to him make me feel happy and genuinely calm me down? I made it to my dorm room and slipped back inside before getting changed back into pajamas.

I had to wake up early tomorrow since I was switching dorms before classes. I already had all my things packed and ready for the switch so I wasn't too worried about that. I was just worried about how Levi was going to take it since I've been forgetting to mention it to him.

When I came out of the bathroom Jean was awake with his light on. "You're back," he said with a relieved tone.

"Yup, just needed to clear my head," I said, giving him a smile. That late-night walk did the opposite of clear my head. Sure it cleared away the bad thoughts but only to replace them with all these feelings that I don't know and confusing thoughts that swarmed my mind. I don't know what that feeling earlier was, or I guess more accurately I don't want to know.

My only fear about switching dorms was that starting tomorrow I would have to monitor my thoughts all day and all night rather than just during classes.


	11. Moving In

I woke up bright and early and started grabbing my things. Jean was already up. "Thanks again for this," Jean said before awkwardly pulling me into a hug. He let me go and then gave me a huge smile. "I really owe you one for this."

"It's really not that big of a deal," I laughed.

"Living with Levi isn't that bad?" I rolled my eyes. I can sure see why people may think that, but Erwin was right once you get to know him he's not that bad."

"Have you met the guy, he's mental."

"Actually, I have met him the question is have you?" I asked and Jean froze. He stood there with his mouth open like he was going to say something when there was a knock on the door.

"That must be Marco," I said and Jean nodded and took a second before snapping back to reality and heading to the door.

He opened it and sure enough, Marco walked in and walked straight up to me. "You must be Eren," he said reaching his hand out to me with a kind smile. I nodded and shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you Jean's told me a lot about you."

"He has?" I asked for a moment looking over to Jean who just looked away a little embarrassed.

"Thank you so much for switching with me, it means the world to us," Marco said handing me his key and I handed him mine.

"I can only imagine," I said with a nod. "Anyway I should head to my new dorm," I said as I started heading for the door.

"Oh Eren," Marco said placing a hand on my shoulder. "Good luck."

"Thanks," I responded quietly. I walked out of the room with my bags and knocked on the door despite having Marco's key, or I guess I should say my key.

Levi opened the door looked at me for a second and slammed the door in my face. I just laughed for a second. I don't know if that went better than I thought or worse. I knocked again and Levi opened the door again.

"You have to be fucking joking," Levi said glaring at me. "You really switched into my room. For fuck's sake."

"To be fair, I didn't know who you were when I decided to switch with Marco. Hell, I didn't even know who Marco was aside that he was Jean's boyfriend." I shrugged and Levi just groaned moving out of the way letting me come in.

"I'm surprised you didn't already know."

"How would I know?"

"You can read minds."

"So you never thought about moving in with me. At least not while I was listening," he rolled his eyes.

"What about Marco's mind?"

"I mostly wear my headphones when around others. The few times I have caught his thoughts he mentioned switching dorms with the person in Jean's. How was I supposed to know you were in Jean's dorm?" Levi crossed his arms.

"See this is why you should get to know people."

Levi just let out an annoyed sigh and walked over to his side of the room where the collapsible wall was pulled out. I'm surprised Marco never got to know Levi despite rooming with him for a few years.

"Yeah well, normal people stop trying after being told to get lost the first time," Levi said through the wall. I can see he took his headphones out.

I poked my head around to his side. "Well, maybe I'm not normal."

"No, you're just stupid." He said rolling his eyes, "now can you please keep your face on your own side of the room."

I sighed and walked back to my side and started to unpack. It seems Levi is a little warmed up to me. He said he would keep his headphones in even in his dorm, but I haven't seen him even attempt to put him in since I've been here. However, I also can't see past the wall so who knows what he's doing back there.

"Can you stop thinking about me its fucking weird."

Nope, no headphones. "Sorry."

"And I haven't warmed up to you, you're just the only one who knows about my power."

The only one?

"Aside from the teachers yes. Also, you think it's annoying that I'm in your head so whatever it takes to get back at you for annoying me." He said and I could almost hear the shit-eating grin on his face.

I finished unpacking and then got ready for class. We had Erwin and Auruo today. I headed out looking back as I did. Levi was just putting in his headphones. “I’ll see you in class,” I said before heading out. He just nodded awkwardly. Guess Marco never said anything when he came or went.

I made my way to Erwin’s class and took a seat near the back again. There were only a few other students in the room when he walked in and set his stuff down. He locked eyes with me and dammit now he's walking over to me.

“Hey Eren, how’s everything going?” He said giving me a friendly smile.

“Um, good,” I said returning the smile but mine was more awkward than friendly.

“Did you already switch into your new dorm?”

“This morning,” I nodded.

"Oh, how do you like it?” Weird, why does this feel like an interrogation?

“So far so good,” I said, giving him an awkward thumbs up.

“Well, that’s good.”

“Yeah, you were right, once you get to know him he’s actually really nice… well kinda.”

“Oh,” he sounded almost surprised. I don’t know if he was surprised because I thought Levi was nice or that I actually got to know him. Hell, he could even be shocked that Levi let me know him enough for me to think he’s nice and cute. Wait what.

“Well, I’m glad you took the time to know him, he really his a good kid,” Erwin said patting my shoulder before heading back to his desk. I looked up as Levi came in the room and took his seat. He sat down in his normal seat two chairs away from mine. I watched as he walked before forcing my eyes down to my desk. I pulled out a notebook to busy myself and clear my thoughts. 

I knew he couldn't hear them at the moment since his headphones were in, but I still don’t want those thoughts circling my head. I did need to get my emotions in check the are all out of whack. I don’t know why but ever since last night I felt weird. My stomach feels weird. It feels almost as if I’m hungry but nauseous at the same time. Maybe I’m just getting sick… I hope that's the case and not… fuck don’t even think about that.

I took a deep breath and looked up at the front of the room as Erwin greeted the class. Keep it together Eren I told myself as I tried to push away the annoying feelings that were sprouting up. Out of all the people in this school, of course, I get a crush on the one that can feel emotions and hell read my mind. This was the worst time to get these feelings too, now that I’m living in the same room with him.

Eren, stop panicking. That will attract his attention quicker. Just focus on Erwin, on the classes, and keep your thoughts and feelings hidden. I took a deep breath and ignored any other thoughts that popped up.


	12. Portals

“Alright class,” Erwin cleared his throat after writing attendance, “As you all should know we are going over powers, more specifically my powers. So the one we will be going over today is-,” he said before taking the pencils out of his pencil holder and putting three slips of paper in it before shaking. “Drum roll,” he said before he stopped shaking and pulled out a paper. “Portals,” He smiled reading it.

He made one right in front of us and then reached his hand through it. It led across the room to the trash can. He dropped the paper in it pulled his hand out and the portal disappeared. “Now then, where should I start?”

"Well, I guess I should start by saying that people who have this power have different strains of this. Some people can only make a portal in the same room. Others can make portals as long as they have a clear picture in their head of where they want to go such as myself."

"There are also different magnitudes of the power. Some can only make the two portals one in one out. Others like myself can make several at once." He said before demonstrating. He opened three at one end of the class and three at the back of the class.

"These three and those three all correlate with each other." He said before walking through the first portal and ending up at the back of class before walking into the other portal at the back and appearing back at the front doing so one more time before returning to the front of the class through the last portal.

"The time duration also differs from person to person. Some people can only keep them open for a few seconds whereas others can keep them open for hours on end. I should also mention that some people can't collapse their own portals and have to wait for them to collapse whereas others can make them collapse whenever they want. I can only keep mine open for up to ten minutes at a time before the portal collapses on itself." He said leaving one of the three open to demonstrate. Before closing the other two.

"Now as we wait for that to collapse, does anyone have any questions so far?" He asked. Only one person raised their hand.

"Can you feel if a portal is about to collapse?" Sasha asked and Erwin smiled.

"Yes, I can. I can feel it getting unstable whether I'm right next to it, or several miles away." He looked happy that people were actually listening.

"Any other questions?" His question was met with silence.

"Alright, career paths," he started on. "People with my ability usually go into the transportation business. They work for airports and often make a lot of money helping them get high profile people to their destination in no time. Some people with my power will also be caught around celebrities and government officials often hired as a bodyguard for quick getaways."

"People with this ability also sometimes take the emergency route and work as a first responder and help get medical to people faster, or helping police get to targets quicker. These career choices also are taken by the people who have the teleportation power, but we’ll be going over that in a different class.

“Alright, well,” he paused for a minute, “any questions about that?” Silence. “Okay, then I’m going to start helping each of you individually.” He paused again before looking at us. “Would you prefer doing it in the hall or at the front of the class. He seemed to be looking at Armin Mikasa and me. I just put my head down hoping that they would answer.

“I’m fine wherever,” Mikasa said. I looked up enough to see Armin vanish in his seat.

“Well,” Erwin tried to hold back his laughter, “I guess we’ll do it in the hall.”

He grabbed a notebook on his desk. “Alright, I’ll be taking the newbies first,” he said before looking to Mikasa, “I hope you don’t mind going first my dear,” he said politely before looking between Armin and me. “It seems the boys aren’t ready quite yet.” She just laughed and followed him out to the hall.

Well, at least he thinks it’s funny. Armin and I beg to differ. Though Armin went above and beyond by using his power whereas I just lowered my head. I looked back up and Armin had returned. Good, maybe Erwin will choose him first.

I pulled out my notebook and started writing. I didn’t have any short stories going at the moment so I started a new one. When my pencil hit the paper I was no longer in a quiet class at school, rather I was in a grassy field with a beautiful sunset in the sky. Around the field there was a forest with trees so close together I could barely make out where one started and the other began. There were birds chirping from the tree line and flowers dancing in the wind.

I looked around and realized there was someone else here sitting in the field next to me. Their back was to me and I couldn’t see there face. That’s funny, the hair looks different from the last time I wrote this scenario. Come to think about it, there are a few things different. Like the sunset, that used to be a normal sunny sky. The grass usually wasn’t a field more of just a small clearing in the forest. The person sitting next to me usually when there back was turned I imagined it with a blondish or light brown hair. This is the first time the person's hair was black.

I went to continue writing when I got snapped out of it when Erwin called out another name, “Armin,” he said poking his head in the class.

I stared at the unfinished story, it was more of a recurring daydream at this point. Getting right back into it wasn’t as easy, but after a minute or two of focus and determination to finally see this person’s face I continued. I got back into the spot in my head. I was back standing there behind them. I reached my arm out to touch their shoulder. I saw something and immediately stopped in my tracks. A headphone cord. I put the pencil down and closed my book. That’s enough writing for today. I looked up at the clock and saw there was still a few hours to go.

I don’t know what drove me to look back at Levi but the second I looked at him my head snapped forward almost instantly. His headphones were removed and he was looking at me with an eyebrow raised. Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck-.

“Eren,” Erwin poked his head in the room.

I stood up faster than ever and headed outside as normally as possible I took a breath when I was outside the classroom.

“You okay?” Erwin asked looking at me with a concerned look.

“Huh, yeah,” I said with a forced smile. “Just a little tired that’s all,” I said out of habit and then proceeded to straighten myself out mentally as he talked to me.

"Alright, so I've talked with your other teachers and so far they've already discovered that your powers correlate with your emotions. Is that correct?" He asked looking at his not book.

"Yup," I said with an awkward nod.

"Alright, are you in an emotional state that your power will work?" He asked and I just nodded. I didn't feel any super negative emotions at the moment. Well aside from stress about the whole Levi situation and the worry that he heard all of my thoughts before… stop Eren you're going to make it worse.

"Would you mind showing me your power? Erwin asked and I nodded once again. I took a deep breath and tried to clear my head from the emotions I just worsened.

I focused and lifted myself up. Hey, my powers are working today. That's awesome! I thought keeping the positive attitude. I held it for a moment and then lowered myself back down. "Was that okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I do have an odd request though. You can feel free to turn it down if you're not comfortable with it," he said and it made me a little nervous about what the hell he was about to ask.

"What's the request?"

"Can you do that one more time, but can I place my hand on your shoulder while you do it?" He asked and that wasn't as weird as I thought it would be. I am glad that he asked though rather than just doing it.

I nodded letting him know I was ready and he put his hand on my shoulder. I lifted myself up with his hand on my shoulder. He made a weird face and then nodded, "I'm going to press down a little is that okay?"

"Um sure," I said and I didn't feel his hand budge in the slightest.

"Hmmm," he said with another weird confused face. "Okay thank you that's will be all," he said and I lowered myself back down to the ground.

"If you don't mind me asking what were you trying to see?"

"Oh I just wanted to test a few things by putting my arm there sometimes you can feel the person's power at work. Or by pressing down you see if a little weight can throw the person off."

"Oh," I said not really sure if I should ask about the weird faces he was making. "Was there something wrong with what I was doing?" I asked and Erwin looked up from writing down his notes.

"Huh, no you did everything perfectly," he said with a smile. I saw his notebook and the only thing I could see that really popped out in the 2 seconds I got to see it was CALL HANJI SHE'S RIGHT. He wrote in big letters and underlined it twice.

"That will be all, we'll continue lessons next class." He said with a smile as he closed his notebook.

"Um alright then," I said before going back into class with a more anxious feeling. I sat back down in my seat and put my head down. These teachers are up to something and I don't like it. My thoughts were racing.

I thought at the beginning I was just imagining it, but now I'm certain. It's not just Hanji anymore Erwin is acting weird too. Neither of them will tell me anything they learn about my power and they are acting really suspicious. First Hanji with the weird looks and now Erwin is giving me those same looks and the same secretive notes. What could that have possibly meant? Call Hanji, she's right. What could she be right about that involves me? Do they know something I don't?

Now that I think about it Erwin has been in the hall for a long time without calling out another student. Maybe he's on the phone with Hanji right now. Ugh, I would kill to know what they are talking about. Hey, Levi, I don't know if your listening but if you are can you hear Erwin's thoughts? I asked mentally without even knowing if his headphones were on or off.

"You're on your own," he mumbled. Well, he heard me. Guess he can't hear Erwin's thoughts either.

Did they do this to you too? The whole silent treatment weird looks and suspicions notes? I asked him thinking about specific events so he knew what I meant.

"Nope, honestly I've never seen either of them act like that before." He mumbled quietly.

Well, thanks anyway. Also, why did you take your headphones out?

"My playlist ended and I didn't want to listen to the same songs for the 3rd time today." He sighed, "I need to make some new playlists."

Oh, sounds fun.

"More like boring. I have to find several songs I won't get tired of after like a million replays."

Oh true. Um, Levi?

"What?"

Did you hear what I was thinking about earlier? I asked actually looking up from my desk.

"Yeah, the scenery was nice, but after you saw some person you shoved it all away. Who is it an ex or something?"

Um, yeah something like that. I let a smile out. You must really be bored to actually be talking to me.

"Yeah, I should have brought an extra book."

So we are friends then since you'd rather talk to me than be bored. I gave him a smug smile.

When he realized he had walked right into that he shoved his headphones back in. "On second thought, I think it would be less annoying listening to this playlist again than hearing you in my head." He huffed pressing play.

I just put my head back down but with a big smile on my face as my heart raced and my stomach fluttered with butterflies. He's definitely opening up to me more and more. Maybe this crush isn't the worst thing. I just hope when he does reject me he makes it fast and it doesn't ruin the friendship that is starting to grow between us.

I kept my head down on the desk and took one quick peek at him making sure his headphones were still in. Sure enough, they were. However, I saw something that surprised me. A little smile on his face. I just turned my head back towards the table and felt my smile double in size.


	13. Balloons and Nails

Eventually, I pulled out my notebook and wrote some different short stories. I was pulled back into reality with a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and Jean gave me a smile, “Hey friend,” he said before sitting in the desk next to me.

“Hey,” I smiled closing my notebook.

“Whatcha up to?”

“Oh, I was just writing some things,” I shrugged. I didn’t really like people reading my writing. Even if my writing is fiction I still write some pretty personal things in my stories and the thought of someone reading them sends chills down my spine.

“Oh, cool,” he said before leaning in. “About this morning,” he said awkwardly. “I’m sorry if I offended you or something, you didn’t seem to happy with what I said. So I’m sorry if I said something wrong.” he seemed a little confused about what he was apologizing for but he was at least apologizing. He didn’t say anything about me to get me upset, but he is judging Levi without knowing him and that’s why I got a little frustrated.

“You didn’t offend me, I just don’t think you should say bad things about people you don't know.”

“Yeah, normally I wouldn’t say anything about people but Levi’s different from normal people. Did you not see him talking to himself earlier?”

“He wasn’t talking to himself,” I said quickly, “he was talking to me. My head was just down that’s why you didn’t see me talking to him.”

“Oh,” Jean said for a moment. “I guess you're right, I’ll try to... I don’t know, keep my mouth shut.”

“Just don’t go spreading rumors okay?”

“Okay, I mean it’s not like people listen to what I have to say anyway,” Jean shrugged.

“Jean,” Erwin said poking his head in the room.

“Looks like I gotta go,” Jean said before getting up and heading out of the class right as Levi was coming back in and taking his seat. I didn’t even hear Erwin call his name. Well, that explains why Jean came over to me for once.

Levi took a seat and I noticed his headphones were out probably from his lesson with Erwin. “Everything go okay?” I asked looking at him.

“Yeah, why?” he asked raising an eyebrow.

“No reason, just wondering,” I shrugged.

He put his headphones back in and closed his eyes after turning on his music.

Guess he’s not in a talkative mood anymore. He looked tired and his mood changed from earlier. Using his powers must take a lot out of him not to mention that he spends half the night outside watching for people. I just turned my head back to my notebook and wrote for the last bit of class. When the bell rang I packed my stuff up and Levi tapped me on the shoulder pulling out his headphones for a minute.

“If you want to annoy me at lunch again I’m eating in here,” he said quietly and keeping his eyes away from mine.

“Do you want me to eat in here with you?” I asked giving him a smile. By the way he's asking it really seems like he 2ants me too.

"Don't get the wrong idea," he rolled his eyes getting more defensive, "I just don't want you wandering around the school annoying everyone else looking for me. Whether you chose to eat hear or fuck off somewhere else is your own choice." He said before grabbing his stuff and sitting at the front of the class next to Erwin's desk.

He took a seat and Erwin instantly started up a conversation with him. As I stood there deciding whether I wanted to stay or leave the door flew open and in ran Hanji.

"So you said I was right about-" she started before making eye contact with me. "Hello there, nice seeing you here. Levi aren't you glad your friend is joining us."

"He's not my friend," Levi quickly mumbled.

"Um actually I was just leaving," I said awkwardly. There were way too many people here for my liking and two of them were teachers.

"Awe really, come on I insist," Hanji said happily, "if it's because Levi is being a Debbie downer then you won't have to worry because I'll make sure he cuts it out," she said and Levi just rolled his eyes.

"Um, it's not that," I shrugged awkwardly.

"Oh," she said with a little pout.

Now I felt bad she seemed genuinely excited about me staying here. "Well, I guess I can stay," I shrugged.

She instantly went from sad to happy again. Wait a minute… have I just been played? Damn, she's good. I heard Levi laugh and everyone turned to him. "Sorry, but he just realized how manipulative Hanji can be."

"Wait he knows?" Erwin said looking to Levi.

"Yeah, he's a persistent asshole," Levi glared at me for a minute.

I just kinda shrugged, "yeah but you told me out of your own free will.

"My own free will my ass. You were the one talking in your head trying to get a response from me."

"But you responded to me when you could have just ignored me like always," I said and Levi glared at me again but this time with his mouth slightly open like he was trying to find something to argue against.

He finally gave up and closed his mouth turning his head away before mumbling "I don't like you," it sounded almost as if he was just messing with me.

I sat down next to him putting on a big smile before thinking in the most obnoxious and irritating tone but you're my frienddddddd.

"I hope you lay down on a freeway," he rolled his eyes and I just busted out in laughter.

I looked up at the teachers who were both smiling at us. "Glad to see you two… um, getting along?" Erwin said questioning his own statement.

"Like balloons and nails," Levi said before cracking a smile.

Hanji just laughed and patted Levi’s head. “I’m sure you guys are going to be great friends. Be nice to this one Levi he’s willing to get to know you,” she said before turning to me.

“You have a kind heart. I hope you keep it even after dealing with this one,” she said with a smile. 

I just gave her a smile and a nod. Since I was to busy trying to control my thoughts and stop myself from thinking about anything that might let Levi in on some stuff I would rather not have him knowing.

He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “What kind of stuff?”

“Nothing important,” I mumbled before wishing I really had left the room.

“Well, now you’ve made it my mission to find out,” he said giving me a devious grin, “And you’re totally not going to think of it right now.”

I mentally had to stop myself from thinking anything. “Your mind tricks won’t work on me!” I said before putting my head on the desk as I started to get a headache from fighting my own thoughts.

Hanji and Erwin had started to drift into their own conversation and weren’t going to come to my aid. I just have to ignore any mind tricks that you come up with. I looked up at Levi and rolled my eyes at him before giving him a smile. I mean hey I am a stubborn asshole, right?

“Well, damn, that’s the first correct thing you’ve said today,” he laughed.

We spent the rest of lunch-making snide comments at each other occasionally flat out insulting the other person, but at least this time I could tell that he was only joking and teasing me and that he didn’t mean anything he was saying.

The atmosphere felt light, it might be just because I’m happy and my levitating powers are supposed to work better when I’m happy or something. Well, that and I also think it's because I can feel Levi’s mood too. His mood isn’t hostile or frustrated like it was the first day, but rather it was joyful and felt genuinely happy. When the bell rang I actually felt disappointed, and I could tell by the magnitude of it that I wasn’t the only one.

I looked to Levi and gave him a smile, awe are you going to miss my stubborn ass?

“Yeah right, I know your ass is going to sit next to me in the next class too,” he rolled his eyes.

“Am I? I mean I was planning on sitting next to Jean.”

“Oh.” His tone was neutral but I felt something radiate off of him. Disappointment? Sadness? I don’t know since it was only for a split second before I cut back in.

“I’m just kidding, damn I didn’t think you would actually miss me.”

Levi just stammered for a minute, “like a cat misses a flea,” he said before exiting the room with his head down. Now that feeling that just came off him I recognized immediately. Embarrassment.

I thanked Erwin and Hanji for having me in the class and headed after Levi. He was already pretty far down the hall and almost to our next class.


	14. Language

I walked into my next class and decided to be a bit braver this time around. Rather than sitting two seats from Levi I sat down right next to him. He had already put his headphones on and his head was down on the desk. I guess he was still embarrassed.

I got a weird glance from some of the other students but I didn't care. Jean looked at me before just nodding as if to say he wasn't going to say anything. I just nodded back with a thankful smile. Marco, on the other hand, looked at me before looking at Jean with a weird look almost as if asking him if I was serious.

I really think they need to get to know Levi. I mean hell Jean's personality is just a toned-down version of Levi's if you really think about it. Well I mean that might be a stretch but still. They've got a lot more in common than they would think. Besides they haven't even gotten to know him. Sure they might see that he's defensive on the outside but they don't see how he stays up every night to watch for people, or how he helps people who need it even if he finds them annoying.

I looked back at Levi who had sat up at this point. He looked at me and saw me sitting right next to him and put his head back down. "You're insufferable," he mumbled.

"Hey you wanted me here," I said back at him. Without seeing his face I could tell he was rolling his eyes.

"Well, now I want you to leave."

"So you admit you did want me here," I said with a bigger grin.

He just let out an annoyed sigh and gave up. He sat up looked at me before taking a deep breath and turning to the front of the class.

"Well, I want to be here too so there's something we have in common," I said and I saw him bring his hand up and pinch the bridge of his nose as he let out a long defeated sigh.

"There is just no end to this is there?" he shook his head.

I pretended to think for a minute before looking back at him, "nope."

"This is the reason I'm mean to people," he mumbled rolling his eyes.

"Too bad you were nice to me," I said with a smile.

"Yup too bad," he said before a slight smile appeared on his face, but he quickly pushed it off his face sticking with a neutral expression.

I turned away as I heard the door opened and the teacher walked in. "How's it going, everyone?" Auruo greeted us, "Ready to get into my power?"

He took roll before sitting at his desk and kicking his feet up. "So my power," he started, "well, as you all know it's understanding languages. I can write, and read in these languages however, I can not speak them. That is where my powers differ from others. Most people can speak the languages but can't write or read in them, and some can do all three of these things. I think it's easier to write and read rather than speak because people who speak all the languages often switch between languages while speaking and well it can get rather confusing."

"Now career paths people choose usually depend on what area of this power people have. Most people who speak or understand the languages work as interpreters, but some choose to be teachers and help students learn new languages. Whereas I just teach you guys how to use your own powers, so I say my job is a lot cooler since I get to see many different powers." He smiled at us.

"Now the people who can write or read go into archaeology and transcription occasionally they will work as translators and interpreters but that's only when they can't find someone else since they have to have the person write down what they are saying," he said before looking to us.

"Well, that pretty much sums it up, any questions?" A few people had some questions but I found my mind drifting. My eyes glanced over to Levi who didn't even look like he was paying attention. His eyes were on his desk and he seemed distracted.

I only looked back up when Auruo spoke up addressing the whole class, "Alright, now I'll start helping you all with your own powers."

He looked to Armin, "Newbies first," he said before calling him up. He noticed how nervous Armin was when he started going transparent.

"Would you guys prefer the hall?" he asked and everyone in the class agreed that the hall was the best place.

"Alright, just don't burn down my class while I'm gone," he said looking specifically at Jean.

"Hey, that was once," he rolled his eyes.

Oh, I really need to know that story.

"He got annoyed with Reiner and threw a fireball and the posters on the wall caught fire," Levi answered. He pulled out his headphones for a moment.

"Awe damn, that sounds like it would be a good show."

"It was, took Marco a few minutes before he could put it out. Not a lot of students brought water bottles that day. No one even thought about using the fire extinguisher." Levi let out a little laugh before pointing over to the wall, "if you squint you can kinda see the scorch marks between the new posters over there."

I looked and sure enough, there was a black mark between the two posters. "You've been taking out your headphones a lot more lately-," I said quietly before wondering if it was okay for me to even ask this.

"Yeah, well you keep trying to talk to me with them in so I figured it would be easier than trying to fight the music and you."

"But doesn't it give you a headache?"

"Sometimes, but if I focus on one person's thoughts it's a little easier to control."

"So you're focusing on my thoughts."

"Pretty much," he smiled, "it's nice to watch you squirm since apparently there's something you don't want me finding out."

"So basically you're only doing it to annoy me."

"Yup, spite is the best motivator," she shrugged.

"Oh great," I laughed. "Well if spite is what drives you then keep it up. Anything to get you to talk to me," I said before realizing what I said might sound a little weird.

"Why is that?"

"Why is what?"

"Why are you so determined to get me to like you and be your friend," he asked raising an eyebrow.

"Because you're really nice and cool and I don't know you just seem like a good person to be friends with."

"Cool?" he questioned, "you do realize I'm the freak of the school. You aren't just trying to be my friend because one day you think I'm gonna snap or something?"

"What, do people actually think that?" That's horrible. "I can guarantee I want to be your friend, not because of the rumors, but despite them. I think the rumors are bullshit anyway." I shrugged, "you're just a chill person to be around. Even if it takes annoying the hell out of you for people to see that," I laughed.

He looked away but a smile appeared on his face and man he must be feeling really happy because I could feel his joy radiating off of him. Once you know his power it's a lot easier to differentiate his emotions and mine, even if we are feeling the same thing.

"Well that's nice, but still I'm not really looking for friends." He said before mumbling, "not again." He snapped his head up and looked at me before saying, "forget I said that," and quickly put his headphones back in. his joyful feeling quickly turned to dread and sadness.

What the hell just happened.


	15. Dropping Hints

Before I could process what was said Auruo had come back in the class and called me to come out in the hall. I walked out mind now distracted. I swear every time I have to do my power something pops up and stresses me out.

Well if Levi doesn’t want a friend I won’t be his friend. Nope. But then again he never said he wasn’t looking for a boyfriend. God am I really going to start dropping hints. I mean, what else can I do. He doesn’t want to be my friend, and he’s obviously oblivious to anything that’s happened so far. Hey if I’m going to get rejected then might as well have it be right away.

"How are you doing today?" Auruo asked me as I closed the door behind me.

"I'm alright," I gave him a quick smile with an awkward nod to match.

"Okay, I think by now you know the drill right?" He asked.

"Yup."

"I know these lessons probably seem like they are going nowhere but once we've all seen your power and got a feel for what you are capable of then we will be able to help you work on it and maybe even expand your power. Sound good?"

"Sounds like a plan," I said again. I was actually more comfortable with where I was on my power so the expanding part can be years away and I'd be just as happy. Besides, I didn't even know my power was linked to my emotions. I think I'm probably the slowest person ever when it comes to my powers.

Well maybe not the slowest, I can at least semi control my powers when I'm happy. Well, except when I get really happy and start floating but hey that's not that bad. Armin, on the other hand, will start phasing through his chair and sometimes the floor.

That was the day Armin got scared got stuck under a manhole for like an hour before Mikasa and I could find which one. When we did Mikasa moved it out of the way and I had to go down and get him. He was too scared to wait at the top of the ladder so he waited towards the bottom. I swear we couldn't take enough showers to get the smell off of us. That's the last time we let Armin stand on a manhole.

Thinking of this memory was the perfect thing to distract me. It made me smile and made it a lot easier to levitate. After I finished showing him my power he had a fascinating face. You could tell he really loved his job and genuinely cared about his students and their abilities.

I'm realizing that's a common thing to see with the teachers here. They all genuinely love what they do and care about us which is rare to see.

"That's awesome," he said before writing down and checking whatever was written. "Alright, Erwin's notes tell me to place a hand on your shoulder would that be okay?"

"Yup that's perfectly fine." Maybe he'll actually tell me the reason everyone's acting so weird.

He placed his hand on my shoulder and as I started to levitate I watched his eyes widen and a smile appear on his face. When my feet touched the floor he was practically jumping with excitement.

"That was amazing," he said picking up his notepad. "Do you feel like that every time you use your power?"

"Feel like what?" I asked and he looked up at me.

"Well let's put it this way, what do you feel when you use your power?"

"Light or weightless," I said, trying to remember what I told Hanji the other day.

"I see," he said a little confused, "so you don't feel it."

"It?"

"Well there's a lot of things that I felt but I'm only going to tell you that I can't tell you." He said before mumbling, "Hanji would kill me if I said more than that now that I finally know what she's been going on about." He looked back up at me and said, "I know that all this probably sounds really confusing."

"Yeah, it does. I don't really understand what you mean."

"I'm really sorry, but it's easier if students figure some stuff out in there own time," he smiled patting me on the shoulder. "I will say you are a very unique student, but that's about as much as I can say."

"Okay," I mumbled.

"You can go back to class now," he said patting my shoulder once more as he dismissed me.

Well, at least I know that all this definitely isn't just something my mind made up. The teachers really are acting suspicious.

I sat down at my desk and laid my head down. I'm exhausted. I guess whenever I get stressed out I just get really tired. I mean makes sense if when I'm really happy I feel weightless and have a ton of energy but when I'm stressed out or deal with any negative emotions I lose all the energy and it gets replaced with lethargy.

"How'd it go?" Levi asked his voice sounded a little concerned as I watched him take off his headphones.

I guess he could tell it didn't go well from my body language, or even the emotions I am feeling. Not only is my head on my desk and my arms are up covering my face, but I felt like back in middle school when all the cool kids were in the know and the outcast was left out of all the fun.

Well, I'm not really sure what to think now. Apparently, all the teachers know something about me and my power that I don't and they can't tell me what it is.

"Well that's strange," he said he sounded just as confused about the situation as I did.

"Yeah," I mumbled. Apparently, I have to figure it out by myself with no clues to go off of aside from I'm unique. What the hell does that even mean?

"Maybe it means you're stupid?" He asked.

"Probably," I said closing my eyes. I mean I'd have to be stupid to not get my own powers that I've had for years, but to have people who have known me for like a week get it instantly.

"Hey I wasn't being serious, stop with the negative thoughts."

Yeah, whatever. I just kept my eyes closed and monitored my thoughts. I mean it's not like you want to talk to me anyway, remember you don't want to be my friend.

"Well, you look like shit I thought I'd try and see why."

"Not that you care." Shut up Eren. I finally cut through my depressed thoughts. Sorry. Ignore whatever I'm saying I'm just in a pissy mood. I'm really sorry.

"Hey it's fine, I can tell you don't mean it," he with a straight face but I can tell that comment hurt like a slap in the face. Of course, he cared he wouldn't waste his time on me if he didn't at least a little even if he doesn't always admit to it. He cares a lot about people in general.

"Sorry," I mumbled out again not only because I know the comment hurt him but also because he's listening to me ramble on in my head about him.

"It's fine," he said with a sigh, " you apologize too much."

"Yeah, sorr- I mean yeah. Well, it was my fault."

"No, I got you riled up."

How much longer until class is over?

“About two more hours,” Levi said checking the clock.

Fuck.

“Well, damn someones not happy to be here. You finally starting to hate me?” He asked in a more playful tone.

“No.” I’m just exhausted.

“If you want to take a nap I’ll wake you at the end of class.”

“Oh really?” I asked looking up to look him in the eyes. “What happened to ‘If you fall asleep I won’t wake you’” I asked with a devious smirk.

“Hey, I never said I’d wake you up nicely, just that I’d wake you. So if you do fall asleep expect a bottle of water to be poured on your head.” He laughed.

“As tempting as that sounds I have to stay awake.”

“Why?”

Because I can’t control my thoughts when I sleep and- shut up Eren.

“Oh, I see you’re afraid of me finding out your little secrets.” He said leaning closer to me, “don’t worry I won’t tell anyone.”

I wouldn’t call it a little secret and telling people wouldn’t be the problem. I said giving him a little wink.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It can mean whatever you want it too.”

Levi just rolled his eyes and sighed, “You’re so weird.”

Damn. Well, this is going to be a long class.

“Why?”

Because you’re well… unique. I thought as a smirk appeared on my face.

“Did you just call me stupid,” He looked at me with a glare.

Damn not as unique as I thought abort.

“You’re an idiot.”

“Yeah but I’m your dork right?” I looked at him with a big smile.

“You’re not my friend I don’t claim you.”

I just pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. Like I said, long class. I have to stay awake and I have to deal with this shit.

“What shit?”

Rather than answering I just let out a long sigh.


	16. Nap Time

The class eventually came and I could barely hold my head up. All of my other hints had fallen on deaf ears until Levi put in his headphones when I stopped talking due to being exhausted. When the bell rang I felt relief wash over me as I slowly stood and gathered my things before heading back to the dorm. Levi walked with me but kept his music on the whole time.

We made it in the room and I sat down on my bed before realizing I can’t sleep here either. Levi could still hear my thoughts and I can’t tell if his headphones are in or out since he has the wall pulled across the room.

I waited a moment and when there was no snarky response I concluded that his headphones were in before stopping again. Wait, what if that’s just what he wants me to think so I’ll let my guard down and he can read my thoughts. Again my thoughts were met with silence.

Well even if he does have them on right now there's no saying if he’s going to take them off in a few minutes or in a few hours.

Levi knocked on the collapsable wall and poked his head around it. He still had his headphones in his ears so I guess that answers that. “Hey, you’re going to sleep right?”

“Um, I don’t know.”

“Well, I’m planning on leaving my headphones in while you sleep since you seemed really worried about me reading some of your thoughts or whatever.” He shrugged.

“You don’t have to,” I said before realizing I was lying to his face. Good thing he wasn’t reading my thoughts so he didn’t know I was lying… or did he. He probably did I’m a horrible liar.

“It’s fine. I might joke about that stuff, but your thoughts are a private place and if there are things you don’t want me to hear then I won’t listen. I’m not going to invade your privacy like that.”

“But your peace and quiet?”

“It’s fine, honestly this is what I’m used to. Marco was living here for the last two years and I lived in my headphones so it’s not that bad having to put them on every once in a while.”

It’s starting to sound like he hates the headphones, but I could be mistaken. Well, why not ask him, “do you hate wearing headphones?”

He paused for a moment. Guess no one has ever asked him that. “Sometimes,” he shrugged, “it’s hard to hear people talk over the music, but it’s a necessity. Without them, I’d have a splitting headache and be really irritated all the time, but with them, I feel like I miss a lot of the little things in life.” He said before looking back up at me. He cut himself off he must have thought he was rambling or something, but it didn’t matter if he was I loved hearing him talk honestly and openly. I want him to be able to trust me.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter. Anyway, you should get some sleep,” he said changing the subject before disappearing behind his side of the wall.

Well now I don’t want to sleep, now I want to hear the rest of what he has to say. I just laid down and closed my eyes. Even though he told me he’s used to wearing the headphones it made me feel even more guilty. This is his room too he shouldn’t have to wear headphones in it. He should feel just as comfortable in this room as I do.

He said he’d have a splitting headache, but I think he was talking about in class rather than his own room. Time and time again I’ve seen him without headphones when it was just the two of us and he never appears to have a headache, but when I see him in class without headphones it definitely appears to affect him more. Oh god, that makes me feel even more guilty since he only takes his headphones off in class either to talk to me or because it’s Eld’s class.

I took a deep breath and rolled over facing the wall. This is the last time he will have to wear headphones in his own room for my sake. Uncontrollable thoughts and dreams aside. Besides, I wanted to drop hints and get him to figure it out, what better way than having him see it for himself. The only thing I’m worried about with that plan is he might wake me up with a bucket of water as revenge.

Despite being exhausted I wasn’t as tired as I was the last few days. I wonder what's so different about today? Could it be that for the majority of the day I was actually happy rather than anxious? Whatever it is I’m slowly starting to feel more like myself maybe in a few days I won’t need to take naps anymore. I probably will still take them because naps are amazing but that's beside the point.

I don’t know when I finally drifted off to sleep, but I woke up and looked at the time. 9:06 pm. Well, that’s the earliest I’ve woken up these last few days. I stretched before getting dressed. I knocked on the collapsable wall to see if Levi was there, but there was no answer.

“Levi? You there?” I asked. There was still no answer. Guess he must have already left. I slipped on my shoes and went to head outside, but something told me I should look at Levi’s side to be sure he wasn’t there. Maybe I just assumed he wasn’t there and he couldn’t hear me over the music?

I looked back and didn’t see him. The room was dark and I could only make out a few outlines. Like that is his bed and that is a desk and that. Oh, that’s him. “Hey, Levi?” I said again hoping maybe this time he’d hear me. Still no answer.

I took a deep breath and walked onto his side of the room. I hope he doesn’t mind, but I want to let him know he doesn’t have to keep his headphones in anymore. I walked over to him. He was sitting at his desk, but something looked different. He was hunched over and his head was on the desk. “Levi are you okay?” I asked. There was no answer and I got a little worried.

Once my eyes adjusted to the dark and I was able to see a little clearer I realized why he wasn’t answering me. He was asleep. In the silence of the room standing next to him, I could hear his music still playing in his headphones. He looked super uncomfortable and if I were to fall asleep like that I would have a kink in my neck and my back would be killing me the next day.

I never really thought about when he would sleep. I mean he’s up all night and all day. He must be exhausted all the time. Wait… maybe that’s why I’m always feeling tired… no, I can usually tell when it’s my emotions or his. I reached down and pulled out his headphones and put them aside. “Hey Levi, wake up,” I said as I lightly put my hand on his shoulder.

He sat up and looked at me really dazed. “What time is it?” He asked as he let out a yawn.

“9:20 I said looking at the clock.”

“Oh,” he stood up.

“Yeah, sorry for waking you I just thought you might want to lay down rather than sleeping at your desk.”

“Thanks, but I think I’m going to get up for the night.”

How long did you sleep for?

“Around 2 hours.”

“Only two hours are you planning on getting more sleep later?”

“Yeah, I’ll probably sleep one or two more hours later,” he shrugged.

“That’s nowhere near enough time,” I said a little panicked was he doing this every night.

“Yes, I do this every night. I’ve never needed more sleep than that,” he said slipping on his shoes. 

Wow, every night. I can barely function with the normal 8 hours of sleep most days.

“You’re power might drain your energy more. You should tell the teachers about that they’ll help you figure out a solution so you don’t have to sleep for practically the whole day.”

“Yeah, I’ll be sure to do that.” Why should I tell them anything if they aren’t going to tell me about my own power?

“You do realize I can hear your thoughts dumbass.”

“Sorry, it's a force of habit to reply like that. I didn’t even realize I said that.”

“Oh, that’s interesting. Well, I’m going to head out.” he grabbed the blanket sitting on the back of a chair before heading towards the door.”

I just stood there for a minute before he stopped in the doorway.

“You coming?”

I just smiled really big before following him out the door.


	17. The Field

We made our way out to the field. We were both quiet as we walked. I think Levi was still trying to wake up a little and I was just enjoying the peaceful night sky.

We made it to the field and Levi laid out the blanket. “So did you have a good nap?” he asked in a more joking manner.

“I could ask you the same question,” I couldn’t help but laugh. You looked really peaceful.

“That’s because I didn’t have to deal with you,” he smirked.

“Oh, and before I forget I wanted to tell you that you don’t have to wear the headphones anymore.”

“What do you mean?” He asked looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, I mean when you’re in the dorm room. You don’t have to wear them for my sake.”

“But earlier you seemed awfully concerned with me hearing whatever you don’t want me to hear.”

“Yeah, but now that I think about it I don’t care if you know it or not, but if you want to know it you’re going to have to figure it out on your own,” I gave him a devious smile and he just rolled his eyes.

He sat down on the blanket and I followed suit. “So is this going to be a nightly thing?” Levi asked blankly. I couldn’t really read his tone.

“If you want it to be,” I said with a big smile looking him in the eyes.

“I don’t care one way or another I’m just curious because you said you can barely function with just 8 hours of sleep yet you willingly wake up and come out here with me despite still being tired.”

“How do you know I’m tired?”

“Because you keep yawning every other minute,” he rolled his eyes.

“Well, maybe I just really like spending time with you.”

“You mean spending time annoying me,” he said with a playful smile.

“You know you love it,” I said bumping his shoulder with mine.

“Like ice loves fire,” he rolled his eyes.

“So Jean and Marco?” I said and he laughed. Wow, I actually got him to laugh. “So is that a confession since Jean and Marco are so clearly gay for each other.”

“As if,” he smiled.

“I'm taking it as a confession,” I smiled before laying back on the blanket.

“You can take it as whatever you want I know what I meant.”

“So, I have a question that might be too personal for you is it okay if I ask it.”

“It’s not like you won’t ask it even if I say no.”

“Well if it’s too personal then you don’t have to answer how about that.”

“I never said I was going to answer in the first place,” he crossed his arms.

“Okay, well here’s the question.” I paused before wondering how I should ask it. You know I’m gay right?

“Right,” he laughed, “you came out to me in your thoughts.”

Yeah, not my proudest moment. “What are you?”

“You mean my sexuality?” He asked turning to look me in the eyes.

“Yeah.” I propped myself up on my shoulders waiting for an answer that I thought would never come.

He paused for a moment and I was sure he wasn’t going to answer. “I’m bisexual.”

Oh, he did answer. That's not what I thought you were going to say.

“Well, what did you think I was going to say?”

“Straight.”

“Why?”

I just shrugged my shoulders and let out a hummed “I don’t know.” I thought for a minute, “probably because you don’t show the slightest interest in anyone.”

“Because I hate everyone.”

“Alright, make up your mind do you hate me or do you love me?” I asked with a big smile.

“Hate,” he said smiling back. He turned away for a moment and just looked up at the sky.

It’s beautiful tonight, I thought as I laid back down.

“It really is,” I could almost hear the smile in his voice. He laid down on the blanket next to me and I felt myself radiate pure happiness.

“I know you don’t want a friend and you probably don’t count me as one, but I count you as a friend, and I’m glad that I met you,” I mumbled quietly.

Levi didn’t say anything at first. My comment was met with silence, and then I felt it like a punch to the gut. It was brief, but there’s no denying the emotions that surged through my body. They definitely weren’t mine. I was hit with the strongest feelings of sadness and grief but as quickly as it appeared it left.

“Are you okay?”

“Fine. Why do you ask?” He was trying to keep his voice blank, but I could hear it shake ever so slightly. Before I could say anything I heard him speak again. “Thanks,” he said, his tone was back to normal.

I reached my hand out and grabbed his before giving it a light squeeze. “If you need to talk about something I’ll listen.”

“I’m okay, really,” he said before giving my hand a light squeeze back. He didn’t even try and pull his hand away or shove mine away. At this point, I couldn’t figure out who was holding whose hand, and honestly, I didn’t mind.

“Oh sorry,” Levi said before letting go of my hand.

“It’s okay. If you wanna hold it I’m not going to stop you.” I said as seriously as I could before I realized how that must have sounded.Wait…that’s not what I meant.

Levi just smiled. “Wow, dirty mind you’ve got there brat.”

“Oh you have no idea,” I said before trying to clear my thoughts to stop any other dirty images from popping into my head. Well, that was one way to go from a serious moment to a total trainwreck in 5 seconds.

“You’ve got that right,” Levi laughed.

We both just stared at the sky for a while after that. A peaceful silence between us. Nothing spoken. My thoughts were focused on the sky so much so that I didn’t even notice myself start to drift off.

I only realized I had dozed off when I woke back up to a hand on my shoulder. “Hey Eren, you should probably head back to the dorm you’re going to catch a cold,” I heard Levi say as I opened my eyes.

“I’m awake,” I said, letting my eyes focus. “I wasn’t even sleeping yet.”

“You’re kidding right?”

“No.”

“Eren you’ve been sleeping for like 4 hours.”

“What?” I sat up and felt a jacket fall off my arms and into my lap. It wasn’t my jacket. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“I just did.” He rolled his eyes.

“No, I mean earlier,” I sighed before I grabbed the jacket in my lap and handed it back to its rightful owner.

“You looked like you needed the sleep.”

“But still,” I just let out a defeated sigh. I just wanted to hang out a little more rather than sleeping through the time where we talk.

“We talk all the time,” he rolled his eyes.

“No, I mean… never mind,” I took a breath before pulling my knees up to my chest.

“Ready to head back?” He asked as he stood up.

“Sure,” I mumbled.

We started heading back and I just quietly trudged behind him. I felt so defeated and I couldn’t even explain why.

“Your dreams were really interesting,” Levi finally broke the silence.

“Oh really, what did you see?” I couldn’t for the life of me remember my dream.

“Well, it started out normal enough. You were in the dorm and then you walked through the door and all of a sudden you were in class holding a pen. You looked into your notebook and then all of a sudden you were in a meadow or something. You were next to someone but then you were back in the class looking at the teachers whispering. Then I woke you up since you started to seem uneasy about whatever you were dreaming about.” He shrugged, “well that was the gist of it at least.

“Huh, I don’t remember any of that, but the last part definitely seems more like reality rather than a dream,” I let out a sigh remembering what Auruo said. They know something but they can’t tell me? Like what kinda logic is that.

“Hey I don’t know man the teachers never make sense, especially not Hanji, but even though they usually don’t make sense they are usually right… especially Hanji. I mean yeah she’s off her rocker but I swear she can see the future at times. Either that or she’s just really good at guessing things.” He took a breath, “look what I’m trying to say is that maybe they know what they’re doing. Maybe just maybe there is a method to their madness.”

“Maybe, but it still sucks,” I groaned. We made it back to the dorm. Levi went to his side of the room and I went to mine.

I went to say something but when I turned back around to look at him I realized the wall was there. Goodnight Levi. I thought rather than yelling through the wall.

“Goodnight Eren.”

I laid down and headed straight to bed trying to clear any thoughts I had about well some things before finally closing my eyes. I just focused on how the sky looked and how pretty the stars were. I tried to ignore my clocks light that was blaring from my desk. It’s like it was screaming at me 5:03 am. Yes, I get it you stupid clock I have to be up in a few hours.

I heard a snicker come from the other side of the wall. Well, Levi’s still awake and he’s getting a kick out of my misery.

“Damn right I am,” He laughed.

I just smiled before finally feeling sleep take hold. My vision went black and I drifted off to sleep.


	18. Manipulating the States of Matter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note~ Sorry the chapter was a little late I was packing and lost track of time. Hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

When I woke up in the morning blinking a few times and silencing my alarm. I sat up and tried to wake up a little more. I looked around the room and noticed that Levi was still here. He was just sitting at his desk reading and… wait a minute. I can see him… on his side of the room… there was a wall there.

“There was, but yesterday you didn’t seem to like that it was there.”

“But don’t you like the wall? Ya know privacy and whatnot.”

“Sometimes, but not all the time. I just kept it up since Marco seemed happier with it up, but you seem happier with it gone,” He shrugged.

“But what makes you happier?” I asked making sure he was comfortable with this.

“Um, I guess whatever makes you happy. I mean I don’t care one way or the other, but if you’re uncomfortable then I’m uncomfortable. Remember the whole feel your emotions thing?” He said with a blank look.

“Oh yeah,” I said quietly remembering who I was talking too. “So how long have you been awake.

“Awhile.”

“Oh.”

“You’re wondering if I heard anything interesting while you were sleeping.” He smiled deviously.

“Well, I know for a fact you didn’t,” I said returning the smirk.

“Oh, and how do you know that?” He crossed his arms and waited for my reply.

“Because if you did you wouldn’t be smiling like that,” I said and he nodded.

“Hmm, how sure are you about that?”

“Pretty sure.”

“You’re right. Your dreams were boring just some normal shit this time,” he laughed. “I thought if I teased you about it you might finally think about whatever it is but nope you have the most self control in your own mind and man it’s annoying.”

“Yup, aren’t I just the worst. I mean it must suck for you since you’re now stuck with me for life.”

“For life my ass,” He scoffed.

“You heard me, I’ll be bugging you until the day you die,” I gave him a big smile.

“Well good luck with that,” he rolled his eyes, “I’ll just have to move far far away.”

Well, I’ll just have to follow you till the ends of the earth.”

“Well, you’re determined I’ll give you that.”

“Yup,” and you’re oblivious.

“Oblivious?”

“Nothing. Nevermind. Anyway, it’s time to start the day. Now if you don’t mind I’m gonna jump in the shower.” I said giving him a heads up since I was taking the bathroom.

“It’s all yours.”

I walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. I wonder if Levi can hear my thoughts in here. Hey, Levi, can you hear my thoughts? I mentally asked and got no response. I decided to poke my head out of the bathroom. “Hey, can you hear what I’m thinking in here?” I asked again verbally.

He just looked up at me from his book. “No, my powers only work with people next to me, and it hardly ever works through walls. It works through thin walls only, but being as our walls are made of bricks I think you’re good,” he shrugged, “so think away,” he said before putting down his book. “Besides, I think I’m going to head out anyway.”

“Oh, alright, see you in class.”

“Yeah.” he grabbed his headphones and headed out the door.

I just closed the door and disrobed. I hopped in the shower and after days of controlling my thoughts, I found it harder and harder to push them all away. Maybe right now would be a good time to just think freely about them and use it as a kind of de-stress time.

As the hot water hit my chest I took a deep breath and closed my eyes letting my thoughts run free. Before I knew it, there was only one thing on my mind, or should I say, person. I think I let my thoughts run a little to free. Some of the stuff that popped into my mind made it hard to think clearly… well, it made something else hard as well. Shit. I turned the shower to cold water not having time to do much of anything else. By the time I was done showering I was rushing to get dressed. I was running a little late. If I hurried I could make it to class on time.

Good god, I need to clear out my thoughts before I get there. I threw on clothes grabbed my bag and ran to class focusing more about what class I was running too rather than anything else. Maybe de-stressing was a bad idea. I should just never think about that again. God if I think of that in front of Levi he’s really going to hate me.

I took a deep breath as I stopped in front of the class. I cleared away my thoughts before walking in. The teacher wasn’t in the class yet but most of the students were. There was still a minute or two left before class officially started. I wasn’t the last person to walk in the class, that honor goes to Annie.

I took a seat next to Levi who had his headphones in. Looks like I panicked for nothing. The door opened and Ms. Petra walked in. “Hello everyone,” she greeted with a bright smile as she walked over to her desk. She quickly took roll before introducing the topic for the day.

“So we will be going over my power today which is manipulating the states of matter.”

She took some items out of a bag she had brought. A metal spoon, a strawberry, and lastly a bottle of water.

“Well, my power can get pretty confusing. Usually, when people think about the states of matter they immediately think of water. Water is a liquid state when it freezes it turns into a solid-state and when it evaporates it becomes a gaseous state.” She said before pouring the water out on the desk. She quickly contained the spill my solidifying the water. It looked strange since it didn’t exactly look like ice, but just water. “Here pass it around.” She said handing it to someone in the front.

As her example made its way around the room she just watched and waited as everyone made a confused face upon receiving the item. When it got to me I realized why. It wasn’t Ice. It wasn’t even cold. It was just water, but a block rather than liquid. It hurt my head to think about but I quickly passed it onto the next person to avoid hurting my head.

Once everyone got to see it she retrieved it. “So this is where my powers get confusing. My powers don’t solidify objects in the way you all know. She then poured some more water out on the desk, “Marco would you like to do the honors?” She asked and he nodded and came up to the front. He made the water into a cube and froze it.

“Okay you hold up yours and I’ll hold up mine,” she said and they put the two side by side for everyone to see. You could see the difference between the two one looked like ice and the other hurt my brain to look at. It was hard to comprehend what exactly was going on with Petra’s cube.

“Thank you, Marco,” She said dismissing him back to his seat and leaving the other cube to melt out on her desk.

“Now, other people who have my power sometimes can do this too, but others might be more like Marco’s and follow the normal path of solidification and so forth.” She made the water liquid again and then let out a little smile, “now the evaporation process kinda looks like normal,” she said demonstrating. It just looked like steam. “However, some things you have to be careful evaporating. Since somethings can become deadly when turned into a gaseous state.

She looked back at the metal spoon before holding it up for us. I watched as it liquified and dripped onto the floor. So as you can see my power isn’t exactly limited to just water and other liquids but as well as items that aren’t exactly supposed to turn into liquids.

She then held up the strawberry and we all watched as it disintegrated into a gas. The air began to smell like strawberries. She looked back to the metal spoon and solidified it back into the original shape almost like it never happened to begin with. She put her hand in the air and we all watched as the strawberry reappeared in her hand as all the previous smoke and the smell disappeared.

“Any questions before I continue?” I watched as multiple peoples hands popped up.

“Um, how about we start with Jean?”

“Can you do that to people?”

“Um…” she froze looking quite concerned before mumbling out an answer, “well I’ve never tried with people nor will I ever try it on a person, however, I think yes it would be possible, but they would die,” she said quietly and looking at the ground almost like she was questioning her students sanity.

I had so many questions but none I was willing to ask in public without sounding like an idiot. Most of my questions were why or how did you do that or why did it look like that and other stupid questions.

She answered a few more questions that were less violent and more about her actual power. “Alright, well career paths,” she said sitting on the edge of her desk. “Most people with my power tend to go work in science more specifically chemistry. Some people with my powers will also work as teachers occasionally but that path is rare, After but then again my power, in general, is rare.

After she finished answering some questions about careers that I mostly tuned out she started calling people outside. She called Mikasa first and I assumed that she was calling out us first as the last few teachers had.

I was still trying to figure out how the water looked like that and also felt like that. Ugh, I get stuck on the littlest things sometimes.

“Yeah, you do.”

“Oh, you took your headphones out?” I said looking to Levi.

“Yup. If you were that caught up on it why didn’t you ask her a question.”

“Because I don’t know what to ask.”

“That's fair. Maybe you should talk to her after class if you’re that caught up on it?” He suggested.

“Maybe,” I mumbled before thinking about it and deciding nevermind I’ll pass. Interacting with people isn’t the easiest thing for me.

“Are you fucking joking? You are always interacting with me,” he rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, but that’s different.”

“Why is it different?”

“Because I actually like you,” I said before looking at him.

“So, I mean hey I hate everyone but I can still interact when necessary.”

It was my turn to roll my eyes. Only I was doing it for two reasons. “First off you’re a fucking liar. You never interact with anyone and second off you’re so obliviously stupid sometimes.”

“Okay I get the first reason, but why do you keep calling me oblivious?”

I just brought my hand up to my face and pinched the bridge of my nose.

“Eren,” Petra said calling me out.

Great another teacher to be sketchy behind my back. I stood up to head out the door when I heard Levi whisper, “good luck.”

Despite being mad at the teachers and there secrets those two words made me smile as I made my way out the door.

I got out there and it was the same old same old she had me use my power asked if she could put her hand on my shoulder as I levitated wrote something down and then dismissed me. I came back in the room pissed off yet again. I sat down at my desk and put my head down.

“Still won’t tell you?”

“Nope.”

“That sucks.”

“Yup.”

I just stayed quiet and pulled out my notebook and just wrote. I needed to de-stress and just blow off some steam. I wrote about this new character. He had black curly hair with brown eyes. He didn’t have powers, but he still had a pretty shit childhood. He overcame his past and is now living his best life with no drama no lies… I’m getting off track.

“That’s boring.”

I stopped for a minute and looked up at Levi. “Huh.”

“Have you ever read a book where everything was perfect for a character right off the bat.”

“No.”

“There’s a reason for that. If everything is great right off the bat them there's no story. There's no character development. Sometimes the bad stuff makes the story. The struggles a character goes through, the hardships, the lies, it all helps to build the character.” He said and I knew where he was going with it. “A character has to go through struggles to have character development so they can get to that perfect spot in their life or their happy ending.”

I just let out a sigh. I hate that you’re right. I thought before erasing some of the things that made this character perfect and added more stuff they will go through throughout their story. Nothing too in-depth just some notes for later.

“See much better.”

“Yeah whatever,” I sighed laying my head back down. You’re such a book nerd that you used a book metaphor to try and cheer me up.”

“Hey at least you got it I guess you’re not a complete idiot.”

“Gee thanks,” I rolled my eyes but let out a little smile.


	19. Jinxes

The class didn’t feel as long today probably since Levi and I were talking through most of it. Well, I can’t really say talking. I was writing and he would give me feedback when I asked if that was interesting or not. He basically just listened to me ramble on about a story for like two hours straight.

The bell rang and when I realized how long I was rambling on in my head I felt bad. I spent that whole time just going on and on.

“Yeah, but it’s okay. Your stories are different. I haven’t read many like them… or any for that matter.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“It’s a great thing. It’s not the same 5 cliques being rewritten for the thousandth time.”

“Oh, okay good,” I let out a sigh of relief as I grabbed my bag. I walked next to Levi as we headed to...Hanji’s class?

“Yup. I usually eat in Hanji or Erwin’s class.”

“Oh, cool,” I said before instantly feeling that anger from before. They’re keeping secrets about me. The mental image of all the teachers standing around gossiping in a circle looking at me like I was an outsider appeared back in my head. It was my childhood all over again.

“Hey earth to Eren,” Levi said, waving a hand in front of my eyes. “That’s not what they are doing. They aren’t excluding you-.”

“Not excluding me? They are keeping a secret that everyone but me seems to know about myself,” how is that not excluding me?

“Okay, maybe I didn’t word that right. What I mean is they don’t have any malicious intent with doing so. They usually have a reason. Remember what I said. Hanji is usually right.”

“Still, it sucks.”

“Definitely, but hey it can’t get worse.”

“Shhh,” I said covering his mouth. “Don’t say that. That is asking for things to get worse.” I removed my hands and glared at him, “if things get worse then I’m blaming you.”

“Blame me all you want. I don’t believe in jinxes.”

“Well I do, and you just said the biggest jinx of them all.” I sighed. “God now some bad shit is going to happen.”

“Whatever.”

We headed into Hanji’s room. Levi was in front and I came trailing behind him looking like a lost puppy. I still felt like I wasn’t welcome in this room.

“Oh shut up, of course, you’re welcome here,” Levi mumbled, “it’s Hanji she loves everyone and welcomes them with open arms.”

“Hey Hanji,” He greeted and she looked up.

“Oh Levi hey,” She smiled really, “I see you brought Eren again.”

“He won’t leave me alone,” He said and Haji laughed. “Because you’re so damn loveable,” she said standing up and pinching his cheeks before he swatted her hands away.

Erwin must have walked in a moment ago and saw them teasing each other since he laughed at them. “Well, you two are starting early.”

"She started it," Levi pouted before plopping down in a seat.

"She usually does," he laughed pulling up a chair behind Hanjis desk.

"Eren do you wanna sit or are you planning on just standing there all day," Hanji asked looking to me.

Oh, right I'm just standing here like a lost puppy. I just quietly pulled up a seat. No matter how long I sit here it just always feels like I'm intruding. They all seem to know each other very well and it's clear to anyone that I'm the outsider of the group. Maybe I should just leave.

My thoughts were rudely interrupted by a smack to the back of the head. "Knock it off. Your thoughts are so depressing," Levi sighed rolling his eyes.

I noticed Erwin and Hanji had broken off into their own conversation probably when they saw Levi hit me.

"Maybe you wouldn't feel that way if you actually decided to talk rather than sitting in your own thoughts."

I don't like talking out loud.

"Oh believe me I know," he laughed. "It's almost annoying… almost."

I mean too many people can judge me out loud.

"I could judge you in your thoughts."

But you don't. Aside from occasional teasing you are very respectful and don't make fun despite how stupid or outrageous some thoughts can be.

"Believe me your thoughts are pretty tame. Whatever you think is outrageous or stupid I guarantee I've heard some way worse."

That's because I've spared you the gory details that is my mind. You couldn't handle my raw uncensored thoughts. Hell, I can barely handle it sometimes.

"Bring it on."

Maybe one day, but today is not. that d

day.

"Why are you a wuss?"

Yes, very much so.

"Oh," he just sorta paused. "I wasn't expecting that answer."

Always expect the unexpected.

"God, you sound like some cheesy advertising slogan."

We sat back and just talked like this for the rest of lunch. I love your power. 

"Why?"

Well, I don't always feel like talking, but now I can still talk to the person I want to without forcing myself to use extra energy. I thought about what that must have sounded like. Sorry, that must sound selfish.

"It doesn't. It sounds," he paused for a moment, "nice."

Really?

"Yeah, I've always thought of this power as a nuisance, but I forget some people would kill for it. Not to mention how it can help some people."

I looked up and caught Hanji and Erwin smiling at us before frantically starting another conversing once they were caught.

I just ignored them and went back to our conversation. With great power- before I could even finish my thought Levi cut me off.

"Are you really quoting spiderman to me."

Oh my God. You're a total nerd.

"How?"

Because I never thought about where that quote was from yet you know it was from spiderman.

"Whatever," Levi looked down with a smile, "just means you're a nerd too."

We've already established that there's no surprise there.

The bell rang and Levi and I stood up and started heading to our next class.

"Can't wait for tomorrow," Levi said as we started walking.

"Its the weekend."

"Damn right it is, no classes for two days means no people which means peace and quiet for two days."

"Oh I thought you had like actual plans," I said before shutting myself up well damn that sounded rude as hell.

"No plans are the best plans," He said happily.

"Well, I guess I should make plans then."

"What why?"

"So you can have your peace and quiet." I shrugged. I mean it's no trouble everyone needs their peace and quiet.

"No that's not what I meant. You're fine in the room I'm not going to kick you out or anything. I just kinda assumed you would be there. I mean your thoughts don't really give me a headache because it's just one person, and well you actually know about my power so what I'm trying to say is you don't have to make plans if you don't want to." He cut off his rambling and took a breath as we turned into Mike's room.

"Then you don't have to worry too much. Aside from the occasional walk or hanging out with people for like an hour I usually just sit in the room."

"Alright then," he said and Mike walked in as we took our seats.

"Hello everyone," he said before taking roll. "I'm going to go over remote tracking. My tracking powers include enhanced smell and hearing.

He started going over what his poor does and how it works. I kinda tuned it out and turned my focus back to Levi. He had his headphones in and if I focused hard enough I could hear his music playing.

I let my thoughts wander as I kept stealing glances. My heart hurts. I like him too much and he is completely oblivious to any of my hints. I've tried making it as obvious as I can without just outright telling him.

Maybe he knows and is trying to let me down easy by just completely ignoring them. No, if he was ignoring them he wouldn't feel genuinely confused when I called him oblivious.

"Careers, people with my power end up in," I tuned back in for a moment as Mike changed the topic. "Some work as private eyes, other work in law enforcement officers, and some work as park rangers." He said listing off a few. " there's a lot of other career possibilities but these seem to be the top 3."

I tuned him back out as I glanced back to Levi. He seemed to be listening to every word Mike was saying. That's another thing I loved about him he always listened to every word. You can tell he is genuinely listening to what you have to say no matter how absurd the topic.

I took another glance and looked at how neat his hair was despite the long day. Even though I saw him run his fingers through his hair at least twice his hair is always neat.

I took another glance and looked at his face. His jawline was perfect.

I took one last glance at his eyes and quickly looked straight forward when I saw them looking back at me. I watched as he pulled his headphones out.

"What?" I heard him whisper.

Nothing I was just seeing if you were paying attention to Mike or not.

"I think you're the one not paying attention. Mike just walked outside with Mikasa."

I um, I knew that. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes at my own stupidity

"Sure ya did."

Honestly, I'm starting to get tired and my eyes are just drifting around so if I was staring then sorry about that.

"Oh alright, I just figured you wanted to say something but not out loud."

Yeah, that probably would have made more sense. I mentally laughed and just shrugged.

"I mean yeah?" He said a little puzzled.

"Eren," Mike called from the doorway.

Guess we'll talk more in a minute. I thought before heading towards the door.

I walked out and Mike gave me a smile. "So should I do my thing?" I asked and he just nodded.

We went through the process. However, after writing down some stuff he looked back up to me. "I'm sorry I can't tell you I know you're probably confused and maybe even angry, but I promise it's easier if you find out on your own."

"If you say so." I gave him a smile. Whereas my thoughts were filled with frustration. How is any of this easier? On them or on me? Maybe easier since they don't have to do their jobs with whatever it is. Ugh, I hate this shit.

"Okay, I'm sorry about all this, but Hanji is very strict when it comes to these sort of things."

"Hanji," I said before I could stop myself. So it's all Hanjis fault. She's the cause of all this.

"Well, Hanji and Erwin are the headteachers so they often make the rules and are in charge of certain aspects."

"Ah, I see." I nodded keeping up a friendly smile. I get that some of them might not be able to share because of rules and stuff, but Erwin and Hanji make the rules. Why would they make whatever this is a rule? I don't see any benefit from it.

"Alright kiddo you can head back," he said and I nodded and turned back on my feet.

Well, now I know who to be mad about this. I'm not mad at all the teachers especially not Mike and Auruo since they at least said that they wanted to tell me and that they couldn't. Erwin and Hanii, but more specifically Hanji since that's who all the teachers seem to be pointing out, are the ones to blame.

I took a seat back in my chair and laid my head down on the desk. Now I'm really tired… and angry.

"Sounds like it didn't go well."

"Nope and I blame you for jinxing it earlier. So apparently Hanji is the one I have to thank for all this." I mumbled quietly as I tried to pull myself out of my own thoughts.

"Well remember what I said. The teachers usually know what they're doing-especially Hanji. Also, Jinxes aren't real."

Yeah yeah, it's still very annoying, and they are very real.

"Oh yeah she can be," he laughed, "that's her specialty"

"Makes sense." I laid my head down and just closed my eyes. It feels like after every class I just get angrier and even more exhausted.

"I'm sorry," Levi mumbled and I looked up at him.

"Why are you sorry?"

"You seem to be going through a hard time and I don't know how to help."

"It's fine, I don't expect you to help, but it helps to have someone's ear to rant too."

"Well then rant away."

And I did for nearly 30 minutes ranting away in my mind too tired to even open my mouth to speak. Well, that was until I fell asleep. I don't know when I did if I was in the middle of a thought, but what I do remember is a hand on my back and a light shake as my eyes opened. "Eren, class is over, time to go back to the dorm.

I stood up and followed Levi to our dorm. "Did I-."

"No you didn't dream of anything weird," he said rolling his eyes, "are you going to ask that every time you wake up.

"Maybe."

We made it back to the dorm and it when Levi opened the door I realized his hand has been on my back the whole way as he led me here.

"Sorry but you were half asleep and I didn't want you walking into any walls."

"Oh, thanks."

I climbed into bed and saw Levi pick up a book.

"Goodnight Levi," I said as I laid my head down.

"Goodnight Eren." and as those words rang in my ears my vision faded to black.


	20. A Night Under the Stars

I opened my eyes and saw once again Levi was sitting up at his desk. “Levi?” I mumbled as I sat up and rubbed at my eyes. No answer. I checked the time. 10:07pm. I made my way to my feet and let out a stretch. Sure enough, he was sleeping at his desk again.

He was sitting straight up with crossed and one leg crossed over the other. I was wondering if he was really sleeping or not at first. I walked up next to him and his eyes were closed his arms crossed over his chest.

“Levi?” I said again hoping to wake him up and at least get him into his own bed. He looked like he really needed the sleep. I wonder if he ever falls asleep in his actual bed or he just sleeps at his desk for a few hours and calls it a night. I've never seen him do anything but sit on his bed, hell I've never even seen him change into close to go to sleep in. Now that I think about it I've never seen him in anything but jeans. 

Despite sleeping in such a weird position his head remained straight up not hunched over to one side or the other. 

I watched a wince appear on his face and his eyes and jaw clenched. “No.” he mumbled and I felt a wave of pure sadness hit me so hard tears stung my eyes. His hands squeezed his arms and all his muscles seemed to tense up.

“Levi,” I said again placing my hand on his shoulder and shaking it very lightly. He must be having a nightmare.

His eyes shot open and he shot straight up to his feet. He was standing on his feet before ever being truly awake “Stop!” He yelled before looking around and locking eyes with me. 

“Sorry I-I just-,” I stammered for a second.

He let his muscles relax a little and he shifted his weight one leg more than the other as his leg slid closer to him out of a fighting stance. “No I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell it was just a bad dream and I wasn’t fully awake yet I guess,” he said taking a deep breath and looking back at me. “You’re crying?” He took a step closer before stopping in his tracks.

“Huh, oh they aren’t my tears,” I mumbled quietly. He wasn’t crying, but it was his emotions that caused them. I guess I'm just more of a wuss than he is.

“Oh. Sorry,” he said quietly. “Really bad dream.” he cleared his throat before grabbing his shoes. “Are you ready to head out?” He asked quickly changing the subject off of the current topic.

“No,” I’m not even dressed I’m still in pajamas. I thought looking down at myself.

“Oh, sorry, I’ll wait for you to get ready,” he said taking a seat on his bed. He still seemed a little tense. His eyes wouldn't leave the ground and his hands were still balled into fists.

I grabbed my clothes and headed into the bathroom closing the door behind me. Somethings up tonight. He seems really shaken up and just jumpy in general. Maybe he dreamt of his power trigger, I mean it’s not uncommon. Armin, Mikasa and I have all done it. I guess it’s just the reoccurring nightmares you can’t ever get rid of.

I remember countless times waking up to screaming whether it be my own, Armin's or Mikasa's back when I was living with them. I never really thought much about it, but I guess it seems everyone here must have similar experiences. I mean hell, those were the worst times in our lives some of us remember them forever as vividly as if they were happening in front of our faces. Others are lucky and their minds block it out for them. 

These nightmares are just a fact of life. I heard some people have them every night, others are less frequent, but I can imagine all of them are just as horrifying. I sometimes dream about my mom's death. Despite not being there I still see the scene as vividly as if I was there. That's the dream I dread having. Every night I fear that will be in my dreams, and so far I've been lucky. I haven't dreamt it in over a month now, and I hope to keep it that way. I took a breath and cleared my mind. I got way off subject, and not in the good way.

I let my mind calm down as I finished putting on my shirt. I took another calming breath and headed out of the bathroom. At first glance, he seemed back to normal. There was a book in his hand and his headphones were in? Wait why? Maybe he just wanted to listen to music? Maybe he needed the music to calm down?

I walked forward a little and he looked up and pulled them out. “Ready?” He said keeping his eyes away from mine

“Yup.”

I followed him as we made our way to the field. Silence filling the air. I couldn’t tell if it was peaceful or awkward.

“Sorry, about earlier,” he mumbled.

Guess it’s awkward.

“Of course it’s awkward dumbass,” he sighed. There was a brief pause of hesitation before he asked, “what exactly did you hear me say?”

“Nothing much, just a really sad no and a really panicked stop,” I said remembering the emotions that hit me with each word.

“Oh, can you forget I said any of that?” He mumbled almost as if he was ashamed of it.

“Okay,” I nodded. It’s none of my business what happened but you know I’m always here if you need to talk.

“Thanks, but that's something I will never ever talk about.”

“Okay, I respect that.”

He laid the blanket on the grass and we both sat down. It took a few minutes for the awkwardness to fade away. It really started to disappear when Levi started talking about the sky. 

“The stars are bright tonight,” he said laying down to get a better view.

“They really are,” I laid down too. I will not fall asleep tonight, I will not fall asleep tonight. I kept telling myself over and over again.

“Geez calm your thoughts, I got it you’re not going to fall asleep tonight. I don’t know why that’s so important that you have to repeat it a million times.”

“I just want to spend time with you rather than sleeping.”

“You literally spend all day with me.” I could practically hear the eye roll in his thoughts.

“That’s different though.”

“You keep saying that, how exactly is it different?”

“Well, I mean...It’s nothing,” I sighed before flicking my eyes up to the stars. The moon was so big tonight and it sat there staring back at me from the dark sky.

"You're annoying," he groaned.

"I know." I studied the details of the sky looking at every star. My eyes kept getting directed back to the moon. Even though we see this every night I don’t think this view will ever get old.

“Well you’re right about that,” Levi said and I glanced at him only to see a small smile slip onto his face before I turned my head back to the sky. 

An idea hit me and I rolled over onto my stomach and propped myself up on my elbows to look him in the eyes. “So how was your day today?”

“Huh?”

“Well I mean, you know how my days always end up, but I never really know how yours do. So did you have a good day today?”

“Um, I mean yeah, today was good,” he shrugged. Before closing his eyes.

“What made it good?”

He opened his eyes and looked back at me, “what do you mean?”

“Well you said your day was good, I want to know what things happened to make it that way.”

Levi just rolled his eyes for a moment, “you sound like a therapist.”

“I’m not trying to, I’m just trying to be your friend.”

“I don’t want friends,” he looked at me with a blank stare. It's almost as if every time the word friend pops up that's his automatic response. I don't even know if he knows he's saying it half the time.

“Well fine then I don’t want to be your friend," I paused and he looked at me with a face that I couldn't read. I smiled at him, “but I do want to be something else,” I said as obvious as I could.

“What on earth is that supposed to mean?” He sounded genuinely confused. I couldn't help but get a little frustrated. How does he not understand what I mean?

“It means, for a mind reader you’re so fucking oblivious,” I said getting tired of everything going unnoticed. I lean forward and pressed my lips up against his. Oh my god, I really did it I kissed him. 

He froze in place for a moment and I pulled away. I was almost too afraid to look him in the eyes. When I did look up his eyes were wide and his mouth was slightly opened like he wanted to say something. I couldn’t read his expressions or feel his emotions. All I could feel was my heart racing and my mind screaming this is wrong this is wrong this is wrong he’s going to hate you.

I shot up to my feet and backed away. “I’m sorry, please just forget that ever happened,” I said before turning on my feet and running as fast as I could in the other direction.


	21. On the Edge

When I finally wrapped my head around what just happened I brought my hand up to my lips where he had kissed me. I rose to my feet before dusting off my pants. I should probably go look for him since he ran off in the middle of the night to god knows where. Maybe he went back to the dorm? “Eren?” I called hoping maybe he was just out of sight. No answer.

I headed to the dorm not even bothering to pick the blanket up. I’ll get it later. I have to go make sure he didn’t do anything stupid. I made it to the dorm and poked my head inside. All the lights were off. I flicked on the light by my side, “Eren?” I asked as the room lit up. No one was in here. He wasn’t in the bathroom either since the door was open and I could clearly see into it.

I closed the dorm and headed back out to the field. Where would he go? I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach and immediately turned around running as fast as I could out to the field. I ran straight past the blanket and into the line of trees that lead over towards the cliff. The whole time my mind begging for this feeling to be wrong. “Please Eren, don’t be this stupid. Don’t do what I think you did,” I mumbled under my breath. I knew I wasn’t moving fast enough. I lifted myself off the ground and carried myself as fast as I could. I stayed above the trees to see if I could see him.

When I got towards the edge and still didn’t see him I couldn’t bring myself to look over the edge just yet. I set myself down between the trees and held my breath for a minute as I scanned the edge of the cliff. My eyes stopping on anything close to it. Maybe he’s not here?

I took a step forward to see past some of the trees. Looking along the edge when I finally saw a silhouette a little way down. It looked like a person sitting at the cliff's edge. No no no no. I ran over and as soon as I saw the messy brown hair I knew it was Eren.

“What the hell are you doing?” I yelled as I ran over to him. He turned his head to look at me. He had one leg dangling off the edge. And one pulled up to his chest.

I was a few steps away from him when I stopped walking not wanting to get any closer and having him decide to jump because I was getting too close.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to jump, besides even if I did, I don’t think it would kill me since the whole levitation thing,” he shrugged before turning his head back around and just looking out at the sky. “Ya know for such a horrible place it has a beautiful few.”

I let out a sigh of relief before reaching my hand out for him to take. He grabbed it and I helped him to his feet careful not to let him get any closer to the edge. Levitation or not I don’t want him going over the edge.

The second he stood up everything hit me to the point I almost stumbled over my own feet. These were the emotions Eren was holding back. All this time. All these thoughts all these feelings… how did he do it?

There was a warm feeling around me with all his thoughts flooding into my head. Levi’s so cute, he’s so funny, I like him, like really like him. His lips were soft, and so many more just like those flooded into my head. Normally this many thoughts at once would give me a headache but not this time.

One thought stuck out more than the rest. I’m sorry, please don’t hate me. The thought echoed over and over.

“Let’s head back to the field it seems we have some stuff to talk about,” I sighed. I didn’t even know what I should say to any of this. Should I ignore it? No, I can’t do that. I don’t know how to feel about all this. Man, he was right I was oblivious because I never saw this coming and thinking back now I really should have.

“Okay,” Eren said and we walked back to the field in silence.

His thoughts were still a chaotic mess but one came through loud and clear right as the blanket was in sight. Levi’s still holding my hand. I didn’t know whether or not to pull my hand away now that he thought that. Honestly, I hadn’t even realized. I just kinda let go of his hand as we got to the blanket. I sat down on it while Eren just stood there nervously.

I mentally groaned at his awkwardness. “Sit,” I finally said rolling my eyes and he plopped down on the blanket farther away than normal. His feelings were still radiating off of him and affecting me. The air was heavy and there was just a long awkward silence between us.

“I’m sorry I kissed you.” Eren finally spoke his tone soft his voice shaking from fear.

I took a breath to try and clear my head from all these emotions, mine, and his. “It’s okay I didn’t mind it too much it just caught me off guard was all,” wait I didn’t mind. Well, I guess that answers that.

“Still I shouldn’t have done it without permission.” Eren’s eyes were towards the ground. God, he couldn’t even look at me.

“It’s really okay Eren,” I said not sure what the hell was going on in my head. Was it really okay? I mean I didn’t hate it, I may have even liked it. No. I couldn't have liked it. This can’t be happening. Don’t get close to anyone.

There were so many emotions swarming around in me. Some of these emotions I’ve never even felt before. There were butterflies in my stomach and I felt sick, but it also felt nice? What the hell is going on? My heart was racing but it didn’t feel like anxiety, no this was different. All of this was different and very new. All these new emotions were scary, but I think the scariest part of all is that I can’t figure out whose emotions these are. They’re Eren’s but also not.

His emotions are strong and I don’t know how I haven’t felt them before now, but these are stronger than just his emotions. Which could only mean one thing…

My thoughts were interrupted when Eren put his hand on mine. “Hey, are you okay? You’ve been quiet for a long time,” And just like that, there was an explosion of butterflies again.

“Sorry,” Eren pulled his hand off mine when he caught me staring at it. You probably don’t want me touching you. His thoughts came through before a thought in the back of his head popped up. See he hates you know. It told him. He felt so hurt.

“I don’t hate you,” I mumbled quickly looking into his eyes.

I know I’ve looked into his eyes before, but I don’t remember those flakes of gold in his green eyes. I looked at his face his whole face and just let myself take it in for the first time. I never really looked at his face for very long before since I never wanted to get attached and actually make friends at this damn school, but I think it’s a little late for that. Especially since I think he knows some of these emotions are coming from me as well as from him.

No, it’s not too late. Push him away stop this. You promised, no friends ever again.

“You don’t?” he asked pulling me back from my thoughts once more with that little lost puppy look on his face.

I felt myself start to lean in before I could stop it and sure enough, my lips touched his. I closed my eyes and hoped he didn’t mind too much. Which it seems he doesn’t cause he’s kissing me back. Wow, this isn’t how I thought this night would turn out… hell, this isn’t how I thought we would turn out. Then again it’s too late now to stop it. What the hell am I doing? Stop this. It’s not too late. Push him back, leave. Change rooms. Do something anything but this.

With how strong his emotions are and me feeling these emotions equally as strong I think my rule of not getting attached to another person just broke despite the war in my head telling me otherwise. It seems the side trying to keep the rule is losing.

“Damn you Eren,” I whispered, pulling away from the kiss and lowering my head. If he didn’t kiss me this wouldn’t be happening. Hell if he didn’t get close to me this could have all been avoided.

“Hey you kissed me this time don’t blame me,” he said and I could hear the smile in his voice. Every time I’m about to put a stop to this he has to go and say something cute with that damn smile on his face.

I looked up at him and his cheeks were dusted with a red color. “No, damn you for making me fall for you,” I rolled my eyes. Levi shut up. You can’t fall for him don’t get attached. I took a breath and tried to shove those thoughts away.

Wait fall for me? He asked in his thoughts. I just nodded back in reply. He let a big smile slip onto his face, “Aren’t I just the worst,” he said leaning in placing his lips back to mine.

I froze again. How do I stop this? Can I stop this? Why are my thoughts saying one thing but my mouth another?

I kissed him back as his arm came around me and pulled me closer and I put my hand on his thigh as my other hand pulled his face closer to mine.

“Totally,” I said when we pulled away from the kiss.

We laid back down on the blanket facing each other just laying there in a peaceful silence that neither of us wanted to break at first. My thoughts still screaming at me, but for once I decided to ignore them and instead listen to Eren’s. For once I’m actually upset that it’s quiet enough to hear my thoughts. I need a crowd of people now to drown out my thoughts.

I have so many questions, but I didn’t want to ask them just yet, but it seems Eren had the same questions because he looked away before thinking. What does this mean for us?

“Well, what do you want it to mean?” I asked. I knew what I hoped he would say, but at the same time, I didn’t want to push him to say it. Also, half of my mind was still trying to fight me into keeping my rules. Telling me I should just break it off before anything else could happen switch not only rooms but also classes. The other half of me was fighting so hard to go against those thoughts. It’s been too long since I let myself be this happy, and my own mind is ruining it.

“Well I was kinda hoping this would lead to-,” he paused before looking up at me and thinking a relationship? “But is that what you want it to lead too?”

I just stared at him for a moment as my thoughts battled it out inside my head. I couldn’t tell what side was winning anymore but Eren’s eyes looking at me I blurted out the winner I guess. “I’d like that.” Well shit. I mean it’s good but at the same time shit… I don’t know the first thing about relationships. I don’t know how to be close to anyone anymore. It’s been too long. Hell, I can’t even make friends how the hell am I supposed to be someone's boyfriend.

“Really?” Eren seemed to be in just as much disbelief as me.

“Yup.” Well shit. Guess that side of my brain is really persistent.

Eren leaned in and paused just before his lips touched mine, is it okay if I kiss you? He asked.

I paused for a minute half of my mind screaming not to let him and half of it begging me to let him. I shoved my thoughts away and responded with what I genuinely thought would make me happy. “Please do.”

With that, he filled the gap between us and pressed our lips together scooting closer to me on the blanket until we were laying up against each other. When we pulled away from the kiss we stayed there in each other's arms and just looked up at the stars for another hour. I silenced my thoughts and just listened to his.

His were going on and on about different things mostly about how happy he was or how he was so scared I’d hate him. He was mostly thinking about me for the rest of the time. It was embarrassing to hear all these things about me in someone else's head, but also very sweet. Some of the things he was thinking I had never thought about them like that.

He had thought about my eyes and in his thoughts, my eyes looked a lot nicer than they do in reality. In reality, my eyes are cold and intimidating, but in his thoughts, they actually looked rather nice.

I heard him let out a yawn and finally suggested that we head back to the room. He nodded and I helped him up. I grabbed the blanket and we headed back to the dorm. We got in the room and Eren headed back to the bathroom to change back into pajamas. I decided for once I would do the same. I wasn’t planning on sleeping, but it would be nice to lounge around in sweats for once.

When Eren came out of the bathroom he gave me a smile before walking up to me. “Finally getting some actual sleep?”

“Nope, just getting comfortable.”

“Awe come on you need to get some sleep,” he said wrapping his arms around me and putting his head on my shoulder. My muscles tensed up a bit. I’m not used to this. He’s touching me. His arms are around me. What do I do with my arms? Do I wrap them around his? This feels really nice. No, push him away!

I winced at how loud that thought was. No, I won’t push him away. I just wanted to pull him closer. I can’t remember the last time someone hugged me. I forgot how nice it felt to be touched by another person like this.

I finally snapped out of my thoughts and placed my hand on Eren’s arms. “If I lay down will you? You’re so tired you’re exhausting me.” I said as I felt a wave of exhaustion hit me.

“But Levi, I’m not even that tired,” he said giving me a smile. Shit guess I really do need sleep. Is this exhaustion really coming from me? I guess tonight really wiped me out.

“I don’t want to go to sleep,” I finally said a little harsher than I meant to.

“Why not?” Eren asked picking his head up and looking at me.

I just shook my head. It wasn’t something I was ready to talk about yet, or maybe even ever.

“That’s okay,” Eren said getting the hint, “well how about you sleep in my bed?”

My eyes widened and I looked at him with a concerned look. I don’t know what he’s thinking but I know that I’m barely ready for a relationship not to mention… that stuff. “Huh?” I looked at him really confused giving him a chance to explain himself.

“I mean it’s just a suggestion in case you don’t want to sleep alone,” Eren said bringing his hand up to the back of his next. I could tell how awkward he felt suggesting it and how he was nervous of me rejecting it by saying something mean. Wait… no. His eyes widened and his thoughts got more panicky. I didn’t mean… um, I just meant sleeping nothing else. He explained rather quickly in his thoughts.

I just stood there thinking it over for a moment. “Okay,” I said with a slight nod. I mean I did feel more comfortable around him than I have around anyone in a while, and honestly, I don’t want him to let me go. I want to wake up and remember. I don’t want to go to sleep and forget anything. Hell, I just hope that all this is actually happening and it’s not just my mind playing a sick joke on me.

“That’s okay- wait did you say okay?” he asked in disbelief. I guess he didn’t expect me to actually take him up on his offer.

I nodded and watched as a huge smile appeared on his face. He backed up and I felt cold as the embrace ended. I had to stop myself from stepping forward. He held my hand and led me over to his side of the room where we laid down in his bed. He wrapped his arms back around me and for the first time in a long time, I actually wanted to fall asleep. It was warm and I knew for the first time tonight that maybe just maybe this relationship would work. Maybe it won’t end with pain. Maybe I’m ready to let myself get attached to someone again. Maybe just maybe I made the right decision.

“Goodnight Eren.”

“Goodnight babe,” Eren said and I opened my eyes to look at him for a second before placing a quick kiss on his lips. He laid down and closed his eyes and I did the same. I opened my eyes for a moment and just looked at Eren’s face. It was so calm so at peace.

I need to figure out how relationships work asap. I don’t want to be the reason this doesn’t work out. I don’t know the first thing about relationships, hell I don’t even know the first thing about friendships.

I took a deep breath and put my hand on Eren’s cheek running my thumb over his lips. He was asleep already. I leaned forward and placed a light kiss on his cheek before burying my face in his chest and closing my eyes. I let the world fade away around us as I slipped unconscious.


	22. The Weekend

I opened my eyes and looked around. This looks different. I went to move and I felt an arm around me. Everything came back to me. That’s right. I’m in Eren’s bed and we’re...dating… what the fuck did I do last night? I bit off way more than I could chew. Why did I-.

“Good morning babe,” Eren said opening his eyes.

Um uh, “morning,” I whispered. I don’t know what to do. I just laid my head back down and closed my eyes.

“Are you not fully awake?” He asked letting a little laugh slip out.

I was more hoping if I closed my eyes I’d wake up from this dream. “No, I’m awake,” I mumbled, “just… confused.” I sighed.

“About what?” He sounded worried.

Why did I agree to this? To any of it? I took a deep breath. “I don’t know what to do?” I said and I could tell he was confused. “I mean, I don’t know how relationships work, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do?” I said closing my eyes so I wouldn’t have to see the disappointment in his eyes when he realized he made a mistake trying to date me.

“That’s okay, we can figure it out together.” Say what now? I opened my eyes and he had a big smile on his face. “Just don’t stress yourself out thinking about all this. Hell, I mean I liked how we talked before. I mean relationships are just friendships but more.” He said before freezing. Sorry, I know you don’t like that word for some reason.

“What word?”

“Friends.”

“I don't-" I stopped myself. My immediate reaction to that word is to say I don't want friends. "It’s not that I don’t like the word,” I took a deep breath trying to find a way to explain this without having to explain everything. “I just don’t like getting attached to people. Little late now though,” I sighed.

“Oh, sorry,” he said before placing a kiss on my cheek. But not really. He thought and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes as I gave him a smile.

“Asshole.”

“Anyway as I was saying. Don’t think too much about it, just do whatever feels right and we will go from there.” I don’t know how he can be so positive about everything.

"I guess," I took a breath before remembering something from last night that really panicked me. "You have to promise me something," I said quickly.

"Um okay? Lay it on me."

"Promise me you'll never go by that cliff again no matter what."

He went from playful to serious as he took my hand in his, "I promise."

"Thank you," I felt a lot better just hearing him say that.

I lifted myself up and out of bed before putting myself down on my side of the room. "We should probably get dressed for the day I said looking back towards Eren.

"That was so cool," Eren said jumping up and out of bed. You just floated! His mind yelled in excitement.

"It's not floating, well not in the same sense as your power."

"Oh yeah, I remember Hanji told me that you could do that. That you use your telekinesis to lift yourself off the ground or something like that." Sounds like a headache.

"Well she's not wrong," he laughed, "and yes, normally it would be a headache for most people with this power especially if their power is a little on the weaker side. However, my powers are stronger than most, not to mention I'm used to constant headaches so this doesn't really affect me," I said before stopping myself. I'm rambling again.

That's so cool, Eren thought. He was grinning at me like a kid in a candy store. I rolled my eyes. " what are you looking at?"

"My boyfriend," Eren said back and my face turned red.

I just threw my pillow at him with my mind. It hit him in the face and I heard him bust out in laughter.

"Someone got embarrassed," he teased.

"Quiet you, or next time it won't be a pillow," I said back and he just gave me a smile. I turned around and started grabbing my clothes.

"I know what I want you to throw at me."

"Oh, and what is that?" I asked turning around and he was right in front of me. He wrapped his arms around me and pressed his lips to mine before pulling away.

"I'd rather you throw yourself into my arms," he said and I rolled my eyes but couldn't help but melt into his touch.

God how touch starved are you? He thought in a playful manner before clearing his throat. "Sorry ignore that," he mumbled.

He's right though. I am touch starved. I haven't had physical contact with another person since I was what 13? Well not including Hanji and Erwin, but they never really hug me or anything. Hell, they barely touch me aside from a pat on the shoulder or Hanji pinching my cheeks to tease me.

"It's fine, you're right," I mumbled back burying my face in his chest.

"Can we just spend the day in bed?" He asked. I just want to lay here and cuddle.

“Okay,” I said giving in. Honestly, I couldn’t argue with that. This hug felt so nice and I don’t know when the last time I laid in bed all day was. I needed the break. I set the clothes I had grabbed onto my bed before walking back over to his bed. We just laid there for a moment in silence.

“If you’re uncomfortable we don’t have to?” Eren said seeing how nervous I was just laying there. I didn’t know what to do. Where do I put my hands? Should I be doing something? Like should I talk? Should I close my eyes?

“No, it’s not that,” I sighed before sitting up, “I think I’m just hungry,” I said before mentally facepalming. Sure because that’s what it is and not how unbearably awkward I am.

“Oh, then let’s go get some food and we can come back and just hang out.” He said and I gave him a nod and a smile. I know he knows that’s not it. I can hear his thoughts laughing at how awkward I looked and then telling me it’s okay.

He leaned forward and gave me a peck on the lips. “If you want, we can try again later, for now, I’m going to get dressed.”

He got up and grabbed some close. “I’m going to change in the bathroom,” he said.

“I’ll change here,” I said and he nodded.

“Okay, yell when you’re done so I know when to come out,” he said before disappearing into the bathroom.

I finished getting dressed before he did cause when I told him he could come out he said okay but didn’t open the door. I just sat on my bed and waited for the door to open so I could finish getting ready. He came out and started putting on his shoes when I went in.

When I came back out he was waiting for me. “Ready?”

“Yup.”

“Alright, where do you want to go?” He asked as we headed to the door.

“I don’t have anywhere in particular, do you?”

“Not really, I usually just grab food at the cafeteria.”

“Well, we could go there, or we could go to another place in town.”

“Oh actually I know a really good dinner there,” he said excitedly, “my friends and I used to eat there every weekend.

Used too? “Okay, let’s go there,” I said still wondering if it was okay for me to ask why they don’t go there anymore.

We started walking and he looked at me, “spill,” he said.

“Huh?”

“You have something on your mind. You keep looking like you want to say something.”

“Oh, it might be a personal question,” I shrugged.

“So? Ask away,” he smiled, “I’m an open book.

Yeah, no surprise there. Can’t say that is mutual though. “Why did you and your friends stop going there?”

“Oh, we just got too busy with activities. School got in the way and other events took up there weekend so eventually, we just stopped trying to meet up there. It’s fine though, we still see each other every day in class even if we don’t talk as much I know we’re still friends.” I think.

That thought punched me in the gut. So much sadness in two words.

“Anyway, I think you’re going to love it. It’s a great little place,” he said and I could tell he was just changing the subject.

“I’m sure it is,” I said as we left the campus.

“It’s only a few blocks down,” Eren said before thinking a rather quiet thought. Can we hold hands? It’s okay if you don’t want to-, his thoughts started rambling.

I cut them off by just slipping my hand into his.

Oh. Oh, this is nice,” he thought as a smile appeared on his face.

He’s so cute and he doesn’t even know it. I rolled my eyes but gave a little smile as we walked to the little diner.

“There breakfast is to die for,” Eren said as we turned the corner and he spotted the diner. “Sina Rose cafe” I read as I saw the sign.

“Yup, that’s it,” he said happily before we made it to the entrance. It was mildly busy and I started to pull out my headphones from my pocket as a wave of strangers thoughts hit me. That was until Eren’s thoughts cut threw them all and stopped me from putting them in.

We need to leave. His hand slipped out of mine.

“What why?” I asked but Eren just turned around and walked out before saying another word. I looked up and saw the reason. Two kids from our class, they were new like Eren, I think they must be the friends Eren was talking about. They must have seen Eren walk out cause they jumped up and were heading this way. I just walked out and tried to find Eren.

“Eren?” I called looking around he wasn’t anywhere in sight. Behind the cafe, he thought.

I walked around the corner of the restaurant and he was sitting on the ground with his knees tucked into his chest.

“Guess they never stopped coming here, they just stopped coming here with me,” he said, his voice shaking a little.

“Eren?” I heard someone call around the front of the restaurant.

“Eren where are you?” The other voice called out.


	23. Sina Rose Cafe

Eren’s thoughts were all over the place, but they all had one thing in common. none of them were good. They hate me. I should have known that they never stopped coming here. I’m just an annoyance they probably can’t stand to even look at-.

“Eren shut the fuck up.” I finally blurted out. “You’re thoughts can be so toxic sometimes. Don’t believe any of those things. I said sitting down next to him.

“Sorry, I just-” His voice faded to nothing his words dying out in his throat. He just leaned his head on my shoulder.

“It’s-.” I stopped talking hearing thoughts that rang out loudly.

Where did he go? No, he’s probably going to take this the wrong way. I have to explain. I sighed knowing Eren isn’t going to want to hear this. “Eren.”

“Yeah?”

“I think you should talk to them, maybe hear what they have to say.”

“No I can’t I-,” he started to argue.

I cut him off as the thoughts from the other two flooded my head. “Eren, I don’t think it’s what you think. You should really hear them out.” I already knew what had happened by piecing their thoughts together into a coherent timeline. However, Eren was still in the dark.

“Fine, but only if you come with me.” He said taking my hand in his and looking e in the eyes.

“Um,” I couldn’t help but hesitate. “I’ll be right behind you,” I answered. I didn’t want to hold his hand in front of them. I mean hell my reputation is trash no need to tank his.

“Okay,” he said giving my hand a light squeeze before letting go. He stood up took a deep breath and walked to the front of the restaurant.

I followed behind him and stayed a few feet and just leaned up against the wall.

 

I took a deep breath and headed to the front of the restaurant. I don’t know how they could explain this, but Levi seems sure that it’s not what it seems. I wish he would just tell me so I didn’t have to figure everything out myself. What if it really is what it seems. What if I don't like what they have to say.

“Eren!” I heard Mikasa say as she spotted me.

I just stood still and waited for them to walk over to me. “Thank god we thought you left,” Armin said as he made his way over to me. “ We just want to explain since you left really quickly.”

“Okay, so explain,” I said blankly. I didn’t want to show any emotions I wanted to know what they had to say before I made any judgments, however, I couldn’t quite get rid of all of the anger I was feeling at the moment.

“We were going to invite you,” Armin started, “but when we went to your room no one answered.”

“What do you mean no one answered?” I asked. There was no knock on my door this morning.

“No one was in the room,” Mikasa said and a lightbulb turned on in my head.

“What door did you knock on.”

“Yours,” Armin said and I wanted to laugh but held it in. Armin no.

“No, I mean what was the dorm number.”

“Oh it was the one you told us, 209,” Armin said and I just started laughing.

That’s right I never told them. Well, I guess it’s my fault after all. “Well, that was my dorm, but I switched into dorm 210. Jean wanted to share a room with his b-best friend so I switched.” I caught myself before saying boyfriend since I promised I wouldn’t out him. Then again, I’m sure almost the whole school knows they are dating anyway.

“Oh,” Armin said with a little laugh.

“We were so confused when you didn’t come to the door since you almost always spend the weekends in your room unless we come to get you,” Mikasa smiled.

“Yeah, we just assumed you made new friends and had forgotten about us,” Armin said with an awkward laugh.

“I could never forget about you guys,” I said pulling them in for a hug. Armin smiled so hard he lost control of his power and phased out of my arms.

“Oops, wait, can I have another hug I missed that one,” he said and I just laughed and opened my arms for him.

“Wait so you have to fill us in on your new roommate who is it?” Armin said practically bouncing with excitement.

“It’s Levi,” I said looking behind me to look and see if I could find him… He wasn’t there. He told me he would be right behind me. Where did he go- oh there he is. I saw him leaning against the wall the corner of the restaurant. I guess he felt awkward getting to close?

I turned my head back and they didn’t seem to see him. “Levi?” Armin gasped. “I’m so sorry, Eren,” Armin said. “I don’t know who of you has the worst roommate I mean Mikasa has Annie and you have Levi geez, the only other bad roommate you could get is Reiner.

“Levi’s not a bad roommate, he’s actually really nice, people just spread a lot of fake rumors about him,” I said quickly. I’m sorry Levi, Armin likes to believe gossip sometimes. I thought and turned my head slightly to see Levi nod at me as if to say it’s okay.

“But I heard he’s horrible, I heard he hates everyone and that he is rude and that he is crazy,” Armin said and I rolled my eyes.

“Again all bullshit rumors. He keeps to himself and is actually really funny. He’s not crazy and he’s not rude.” But you do hate everyone. I thought to Levi and flicked my eyes over towards him to see him smirk at me with a little nod.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, and I told you guys Annie’s not that bad either,” Mikasa rolled her eyes. “She just keeps to herself too. She’s really nice when you get to know her.” Mikasa said and we both nodded at each other before turning towards Armin.

“So not every rumor you hear is true.” We both said at the same time. I swear I don’t know how many times we have to tell him this, but it still never stays in his head for more than a few hours.

“Okay okay,” Armin said raising his hands in surrender.

“Anyway, we’re going to head back to the school and since you’re just getting breakfast. How about since we missed hanging out today, we all hang out tomorrow?” Mikasa suggested.

“I’d like that,” I said and Armin nodded.

“Okay, we’ll come to wake you up, well if your roommates okay with us banging on the door.”

“I don’t think he will mind too much since he doesn’t sleep,” I said and I could almost feel Levi rolling his eyes from here.

“See he doesn’t sleep what kind of crazy person doesn’t sleep,” Armin started up again.

“Armin I was kidding. I just meant he just doesn’t sleep like a million hours a day like me, and he actually wakes up at a decent hour most days.” If decent meaning waking up at 10 pm and never going back to sleep then sure, I thought flicking my eyes over to him again to seem hi shrug.

“Oh,” Armin mumbled.

“Sorry, I guess the rumors went straight to my head.

“They always do.”

They started heading back to the dorms and Levi came out of hiding and walked up to me. “So what happened? Why were you hiding behind the wall?”

“I just wanted to give you guys your space,” he shrugged.

“Oh. Again sorry about Armin he’s a little um-.”

“It’s okay, I’m used to it.”

Ouch. Levi said that and my heart broke. He shouldn’t have to be used to such hateful things being said about him. Then again, he can hear thoughts and he probably hears what people think about him all the time and… ouch.

“Hey don’t worry about it,” Levi said putting a hand on my shoulder, “I can take care of myself. What other people think of me doesn’t matter. I know who I am and I know what I am capable off so people constantly bad mouthing me doesn’t really affect me,” he shrugged. “I mean I know what they’re saying is a lie so why should I care?” He stopped for a moment and looked up at me with a more serious look. “The only thing I care about is how it will affect you. I don’t want my bad reputation dragging you down too.”

“Hey let me worry about my own reputation,” I said giving him a smile, “You don’t have to worry about it. If my reputation gets trashed because I’m with you then I won’t care do you know why?”

“Why?”

“Because I’d rather have a bad reputation and be happy than a good reputation and be miserable,” I said, taking his hand in mine. That and I mean a bad reputation means people leave you alone right? So that means I won't have to deal with people anymore so that’s a plus,” I teased.

“I don’t know about that,” He laughed, “I had a bad reputation yet you still came around bugging me.”

“Well, that’s just because I’m an asshole,” Is aid leaning in and giving him a peck on the cheek.

Levi’s cheeks turned red and he stammered out really quickly, “Weren’t we getting breakfast?”

I love how awkward you get. I thought before saying, “Sure, let's go get food.”

He just let out a defeated sigh as we walked into the cafe. We were sat instantly despite it looking so busy.

We got the menus and I didn’t even need to look at one to know what I wanted. The second this cafe came to mind I knew what I wanted and I could practically already taste it.

“Do you know what you’re going to get?” I asked as Levi put his menu down.

“I’m just going to get what you’re getting you really sold me on it.” He smiled.

Oh oops sorry.

“It’s fine,” he laughed. “You just helped me decide faster.

The waitress came and put in our food and brought our drinks in no time. She brought our food and we got straight to eating. I didn’t even realize how hungry I was.

We ate and talked a little before heading back to the dorm.


	24. A Step Back

I collapsed back on my bed feeling a lot better about today Levi just kinda awkwardly stood near the door. “So what do you want to do today?” I asked seeing if he wanted to actually do something today or if he just wanted to hang around the room. I mean he seemed to be looking forward to hanging around the room yesterday but now he looks so awkward.

“Sorry,” Levi said walking over to me. “I don’t mean to be but I just honestly don’t know what to do,” he said walking over to me. I just patted the edge of the bed.

He sat down and sat up to sit next to him. “You’re overthinking everything”

“I know,” he sighed, “but why aren’t you. You seem so calm and-” he paused for a moment, “I just really don’t want to mess this up.”

“You won’t mess this up, trust me if anyone will mess this up it will be me probably,” I laughed but genuinely felt scared that it would be a reality.

“That’s not helping,” Levi said probably hearing as my thoughts started spiraling with worry now.

“Sorry. How about we take a step back,” I said taking a deep breath. “At breakfast, we were both so comfortable because we were just talking, so why don’t we start with just talking rather than thinking.”

“Okay?” Levi said but by his tone, he still sounded confused.

“I mean, we should probably talk about what we are each comfortable with now and what we aren't rather than just thinking about every little thing that could cause us to worry. Does that make more sense?” I clarified.

“Yeah, I like that idea,” he said pulling his feet up.

“Okay, do you want to go first?”

“Um, no you go first.”

“Okay,” I said for a moment before thinking. “I’m comfortable with how we talk to each other and how we tease each other.”

Levi nodded along, “as am I,” he said.

“Okay, you name something.”

“Okay,” I’m comfortable with hugs I just get a little nervous about what to do with my hands,” he said.

“Okay noted,” I nodded.

“Your turn,” he directed it back to me.

“I’m comfortable with holding hands.”

“Me too,” he smiled, “um, I’m sorta comfortable with kissing, but not really in public it makes me nervous right now, but I think it’s just because it’s a new thing. It will just take some getting used to.” he said playing with his hands I guess he was worried about how I would react to that one.

“Okay, that’s fair. So do you want me to not do it at all in public?”

“I mean I don’t mind it all the time just sometimes I’m not sure.”

“I could ask before doing anything like that in public?” I suggested.

“Yes, please,” he smiled.

“Okay cool, we got one thing figured out,” I laughed.

“So wait does that mean you’re okay with kissing if it’s in private.”

“Yeah, you don’t have to ask if it’s in private.”

“Okay, good to know,” I said before leaning over and placing a quick peck on his lips.

He just smiled and rolled his eyes. “I knew you were going to do that. It doesn’t take a mind reader to see how predictable you are,” he teased.

“Whatever,” I rolled my eyes before changing the subject back, “I’m comfortable with sharing personal information,” I said before seeing him rub the back of his neck.

“I’m not,” he mumbled.

“That’s okay,” I said placing my hand on his.

“I’m not comfortable with um… ya know, at least for now,” Levi said awkwardly.

“That’s okay, I agree, it’s a little early for um… that.” I nodded.

“I’m comfortable with cuddling,” I said before waiting for his answer.

“I am too, again I just get nervous about where to put my hands what I should be doing and minor things like that. So just know it’s not that I’m uncomfortable with it, I just don’t know what to do.”

“I understand, and hey if you ever start feeling nervous about anything tell me. If you don’t know where to put your hands then tell me. I want you to tell me anything that’s worrying you or making you nervous no matter how big or small it seems.” I said scooting closer to him and pulling him into a hug.

“Okay,” he said with his hands hovering around me, “Where do I put my hands he whispered.

“Anywhere they feel comfortable. You can wrap them around my back you can put a hand in my hair or around my neck whatever you want. Even if you want to keep your arms to the side then that’s okay too.”

He nodded before I felt a hand wrap around my lower back and his other arm went from my lower back up to the back of my neck where his hand rested his fingers in my hair.

“This is nice,” he said through a smile.

“I’m glad,” I smiled. We both separated from the hug and he looked nervous as he played with his hands. “If it’s alright with you I’d like to just lay down and um…” he stopped talking.

“Cuddle?” I asked thinking that's where he was going with this.

He just nodded his face red as he avoided eye contact.

“I’d like that.” I smiled I crawled into bed and laid down and he laid down next to me before nervously wrapping his arms around me.

You don’t have to be nervous, I don’t bite. I thought. Well unless you want me to.

“No thanks,” he rolled his eyes. He does seem a lot more comfortable now even if he is still a little nervous I can definitely feel his muscles start to relax.

“I can do without the mental commentary,” he laughed.

“Sorry,” I couldn’t help but chuckle. Can I kiss you?

“I said you didn’t have to ask in private,” he said before leaning in and kissing me.

The rest of the day was really relaxing we spent it laying around and talking. Levi was telling me about some funny stuff Hanji and Erwin have done and I returned the favor by telling him some stories of Armin and Mikasa.

We went to the cafeteria for dinner. Which surprisingly there were only a few people. Usually, more people tend to hang out in the cafeteria on the weekends. I guess everyone's got plans tonight.

After dinner, we headed back to the dorm only to grab a few things. Levi grabbed the blanket and some books. I grabbed my notebook and some pencils.

“Grab a jacket this time,” Levi reminded as he picked up his own.

“Oh thanks,” I said throwing one over my arm.

We headed out to the field and set up the blanket. Levi laid back and pulled out his book. I just laid down and rested my head on his leg, He looked at me for a second before just giving me a smile and going back to his book. I pulled my knees up and wrote a little before just deciding to lay there and look at the stars.

Whatcha reading? I thought before glancing up at Levi.

“Nothing.” I realized he didn’t have a book in his hands anymore.

“Oh, when did you put it away?”

“When you started writing,” He shrugged.

“Oh sorry did my thoughts distract you?”

“Nope, I just really like listening to your thought process as you write. It’s chaotic yet soothing,” he laughed.

“Oh,” I couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed just knowing how crazy my thoughts can get when I’m writing, but I guess he likes that?

“I really do, it’s interesting,” he laughed.

“Well I’m glad you were entertained, it was mostly me just mentally screaming.”

“I know that’s what was so entertaining.”

“Asshole.” I rolled my eyes and he just gave me a smile.


	25. Repressed Emotions

After I had gone back to reading Eren put his notebook down and started staring at the stars. I noticed his thoughts change from coherent ideas to random thoughts stringed together. I looked up from my book and sat up on my elbows to see his face. Just as I thought, he fell asleep. I closed my book and sat up. I couldn’t help but notice just how peaceful he looked.

I felt my hand move before I could stop it. My hand moved to his head and I ran my fingers through his hair. Everything hit me all at once. Good emotions, bad emotions, everything.

This amazing person in my lap is my boyfriend. I don’t deserve him. I can’t shake this feeling that I’m going to hurt him. Whether it be intentional or unintentional. There is still a constant war going on inside my head. One side telling me that I can move on that enough time has passed. That getting close to people won’t turn out the same way as it did back then. The other half of me doesn’t care. It keeps telling me to get out while I still can. To end this before it ever really has a chance to start.

As much as I try to silence those thoughts and try and just stay on the positive side they just keep forcing their way into my head. There is no getting rid of these thoughts. As hard as I try they won’t go away. They just keep coming back stronger than ever with painful memories to back up their arguments.

“It won’t be like that again,” I mumbled to myself trying to take back control of my spiraling thoughts.

“What won’t be like that again?” I froze and looked down at Eren whose eyes were now open and looking right at me. Shit shit shit. His hand moved to hold mine that was still holding his head. I couldn’t bring myself to answer him what would I even say. I can barely think about what happened there is no way I can explain it to him. “Are you okay?” His question bringing me back to reality.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said quickly.

You’re lying. His thoughts cut through my own. “It’s okay if you’re not,” he said, bringing his hand up to my cheek and wiping my eyes. I froze when he pulled his hand back. That’s something I haven’t seen in years. His hand came back wet. I’m crying? Like actually crying my own tears not someone else’s.

I looked into his eyes knowing that I couldn’t just lie and say I was okay. I saw tears streaming down his face despite not looking the slightest bit sad. Yup, they were definitely my feelings causing this. I need to calm down. I don’t want him feeling this way because of me. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my emotions.

“I- You’re right I’m not okay,” I mumbled. I wiped my eyes ridding the rest of the evidence. I didn’t know how much I would tell him, or how much of an explanation I could even get out, but I knew I had to tell him something. I finally forced myself to say the words that have been swirling around my head since the second Eren first spoke to me. “I’m scared.”

I watched as he made a confused face. He sat up and I almost wanted to ask him to lay his head back down in my lap since he looked so cute doing so. Instead, he scooted closer to me until we were face to face our knees touching. He took my hands in his and calmly waited for me to explain what I meant.

“I’m scared, scared that I’ll end up hurting you, scared that I’ll never truly be able to get past this block in my mind, scared that history will repeat itself and that I’ll lose you.” I took a deep breath after throwing all that at him. I knew he’d have questions but rather than ask them he just gave my hands a light comforting squeeze.

“I don’t know what happened in your past, and I don’t know what’s happening in your head, but I can guarantee that whatever you’re scared of we can get through it together.” How does he always know what to say? I’m supposed to be the one to help people, the one to know what to say, but when it comes to Eren it’s always the opposite I’m usually the one left speechless. “I know you’re not very comfortable with sharing personal information, and I don’t expect you to share the specifics of what’s bothering you, but I do want to know what I can do to help.”

His hands never let go of mine and I felt myself holding his hands as tightly as they were holding mine. I nodded and took a breath, “what you just said helped a little.” I took a deep breath and used his words to clear away the thoughts in my head. “I guess talking helps a little,” I sighed realizing that means I would eventually have to talk about things.

I know I should eventually tell him about my past and my power triggers, but even just thinking about telling him flips a switch in me and I just-.

“Are you sure it’s helping? Because right now I can tell you’re feeling really panicked and honestly if you keep it up you’re going to throw me into a panic attack,” Eren said taking deep breaths and giving my hands a light squeeze.

I took some deep breaths, “Sorry, I just thought about something that I want to tell you about, but I can’t. At least not yet.”

“Hey no worries, if it causes you that much panic to think about then don’t worry about it. Tell me whenever you’re ready,” his voice was calming. Just listening to him speak was enough to calm my thoughts.

“Thank you,” I managed to mumble a few minutes later after calming myself down. I let out a sigh and stood up, “it’s getting late and you feel exhausted so we should probably head back.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Eren said and I helped him to his feet.

As we walked back to the dorm I felt curiosity get the best of me as I thought more and more about our conversation. “What woke you? I mean I know I whispered something, but you were in a deep sleep before that,” I asked turning to Eren.

He just shrugged, “I just felt really anxious and scared and when I woke up I realized they weren’t my emotions.”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to project such negative emotions,” I said awkwardly rubbing the back of my neck. I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. Every time I have a strong emotion negative or positive Eren gets affected because he’s always right there next to me. I wish I could control this so he doesn’t have to feel such horrible things.

“Hey, I don’t mind. I mean now we’re even right? I mean how many times has my emotions made you feel something horribly or negative,” he shrugged. I mean some of my thoughts have been especially bad. I knew what he was thinking of already, but the thoughts in the back of his head spelled it out loud and clear for me. Suicidal tendencies are a bitch.

“Well that about sums up life,” I said giving him a playful smile.

“Damn right and it sucks,” he laughed.

I turned away to unlock the dorm and couldn’t help but drop my smile as that day popped back into my head. I took a deep breath and cleared my head as I opened the door.

“You okay?” Eren place a hand on my shoulder and I turned around giving him a smile.

“Yeah doing a lot better now,” I said before turning back around to walk in the door.

“You didn’t feel good for a second there you felt sad.” His words stabbed me in the chest with the emotions I was trying so desperately to repress.

“I was, um, am, but it’s just a persistent bad memory is all,” I let out a little sigh giving up the fake smile. “I just need to push it out of my head.”

“Okay,” he said one thing while his thoughts said another. It’s not very healthy to hold things in like that, but who am I to tell him that I mean I’d be the biggest hypocrite saying that.

I just let out a little smile and his thoughts cut off mid ramble as he looked up at me. Sorry, sometimes I forget you can her these internal conversations. He mentally apologized.

“It’s fine,” I said grabbing his hand, “I’m used to hearing negative things said about me, but hearing someone worry about me that is something I’ll have to get used to.”

He just let out an awkward chuckle, “yeah you better get used to it because I care about you,” he said before leaning in. He stopped just before his lisp touched mine.

“Is it okay if I kiss you?” he whispered.

“We’re in private,” I said before closing the distance.

This kiss was different. It wasn’t a quick peck on the lips it was longer than our other kisses and more passionate too. He pulled away and he leads me over to his bed.

“Um,” I felt the word leave my mouth but nothing would follow it.

“Don’t worry that’s not my intention,” he said as we sat down. He leaned back in and pulling me close. His hand on my lower back and one behind my neck. I closed my eyes and kissed him back.

Just when I thought I might have to remind him that I’m not ready to go further than this he pulled away and asked if we should go to bed. I just gave him a nod as a smile slipped onto my face. He really is a man of his word, that's for sure.

When we first talked about going past kissing into um, he said that it would be early for that, but I could tell he was more comfortable with the idea than I was. Which is fine, but I thought I would have to remind him that I’m not as ready as he is, but I didn’t even have to. Which is both good and bad. Good at the fact that he is very respectful and will wait until I’m ready, bad in the sense that I’m actually going to have to tell him when I’m ready.

He held up the blankets and waited for me to join him. I slid under them and cuddled up next to him. “Are you actually planning on sleeping tonight?” He asked.

“I think I will, only because you’re next to me,” I said and Eren smiled before closing his eyes.

He wrapped his arm around me, “Goodnight babe.”

“Goodnight, brat,” I said before closing my eyes. I heard him let out a little laugh.

“Weird pet name but I’ll take it,” he mumbled.


	26. Awkward

I woke up to banging on the door and it took me a minute for my brain to register what was happening. I sat up in a panic when it hit me. It’s Mikasa and Armin, they told me they were going to wake me this way. Levi jumped up and quickly made his way over to his side of the room.

I made my way towards the door to answer it when I heard Levi quietly say, “wait.”

I stopped and watched as he pulled the collapsible wall across the room. I gave him a confused look and he just walked over gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, “sorry it’s too early for me to deal with people,” he said and I could tell that it was a little more than that.

I just let out a little sigh before taking a calming breath. I opened the door and Mikasa and Armin gave me a nice smile. “Good morning sleeping beauty,” Armin said laughing as he looked at my bed head.

“Someone slept in,” Mikasa added. I ran my fingers through my hair and tried to clean it up a bit.

I peaked at the time for a second before rolling my eyes, “well sorry but not everyone is up by 9 am on a weekend.”

“Hey Mikasa woke me up too I was perfectly happy to sleep in until 11,” Armin rolled his eyes.

“Alright well, you’re going to have to give me a few minutes to get dressed,” I said inviting them in.

“Is the coast clear?” Armin asked and I took a deep breath. He needs to learn not to listen to damn rumors I swear.

“If you mean Levi, then no he’s here.”

Armin froze up and Mikasa just rolled her eyes. “Armin you’re back on your bullshit,” she said and I agreed with her.

Again, I’m really sorry about Armin. I thought trying to get my thoughts to him.

I made my way to the bathroom and changed before coming out. I walked back over to Mikasa and Armin and out on my shoes. “Before we go anywhere I’m going to talk to Levi.”

“You should invite him to come along,” Mikasa said, and Armin looked like he nearly had a heart attack.

“No no, please don’t.” He said quickly but keeping his voice low so Levi couldn’t hear him. I knew Levi did hear him as long as he didn’t have his headphones on of course he heard him.

“Armin, honestly you need to stop being so judgmental.” I rolled my eyes, “I’m going to invite him along, I don’t know if he will come or not but I hope he does just to prove to you how nice he actually is,” I said before walking over to Levi’s side.

I gave a polite knock on the wall. “You’re good,” Levi said and I poked my head around and walking over to him.

He was sitting on his bed with his legs pulled up under him. He didn’t have his headphones on and I heard myself mentally apologizing for Armin yet again. I sat down on his bed next to him.

“Hey it’s fine I’ve heard worse about myself,” Levi said with a blank expression. I could definitely feel some of his emotions betraying him. He definitely was upset about it whether he would show it or not I knew he felt it.

“I want you to come with us, but I mean if you don’t want to I understand,” I said grabbing his hand.

“I really don’t want to, but I can feel how much you want me to go,” he sighed before taking a deep breath. “I do want to say I don’t want them knowing about our relationship, at least not yet. I don’t want them forcing themselves to like me because we’re dating.” I could tell there was more to it than that. He’s been really worried about other people knowing about us.

“Okay,” I nodded.

“I’m sorry, I’m just worried, I know you’re not but I am and I just can’t help but be worried about it,” Levi said and it all made more sense. He’s still worried about people judging me because of him. Even though I don’t care about that sort of thing I’m not going to argue if that’s what makes him comfortable then I won’t go spreading it around.

Levi nodded and took a deep breath, “That being said, I guess I’ll tag along for a little while. Only because you really want me to. But I am going to bring my headphones just in case.”

“Really,” I said more excited than I should have. “Okay, I’ll let them know,” I said jumping up. I watched him close his eyes for a second and take a deep breath.

I leaned in and placed a kiss on his lips. He looked up at me and I gave him a smile. He rolled his eyes and headed back over to my side of the room where they were waiting.

“Okay,” I said walking back up to them. “He said he’d come.” Is aid happily and I could already see the fear in Armin’s face. Armin I love you to death man, but right now I just want to knock some sense into you.

“That’s great,” Mikasa said giving me a nod, I asked Annie if she wanted to join us, but she already had plans.”

“One homicidal person is enough,” Armin shook his head.

“Seriously Armin I swear if you keep this up I will end up punching you,” I rolled my eyes, “just come into this with an open mind. Don’t listen to rumors other people have made up. Okay just give him a chance.”

“Fine, but if he ends up killing me-.”

“Armin if you keep it up I’ll kill you,” I said and he took a deep breath and nodded.

“Fine. I’ll try to be more open-minded,” Armin took a deep breath just as there was a knock on the wall.

“You’re good,” I said and Levi walked around the corner. He looked more awkward than usual. He had his hands in his pockets and his muscles looked more tense than usual.

“So where do we want to go?” I asked and Armin shrugged.

“Do you want to go anywhere specific?” Mikasa said asking Levi. She was always good at trying to include people.

“It’s up to you guys,” He mumbled. I could already tell how uncomfortable he is.

I’m sorry Levi. I kept mentally apologizing knowing he was only going because I wanted him too.

“Well, we can go to one of the restaurants in town if you guys are hungry, if not we can just walk around for a while.” She said.

“I’m not hungry how about you guys?” I asked.

Both Levi and Armin just shook their heads. God this is going to be interesting. Levi’s too awkward to talk and Armin is too scared to talk.

“Well if nothing else we can walk around and just stop at a vendor or a small little place around town,” Mikasa suggested and we all gave her a nod.

“Alright let’s go,” she said jumping up. She helped Armin to his feet and we walked out the door. I locked up while everyone waited next to me. Mikasa and Armin started walking and Levi and I slowed down a little.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked you to come I can tell you really don’t want to be here,” I whispered to him.

“Hey, it’s fine, if I really hated it I wouldn’t be here. But I like you more than I hate people.”

“I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” I said placing a hand over my chest with a teasing smile.

“Shut up,” He let out a little laugh and bumped my shoulder with his.

We weren’t far behind Armin and Mikasa. I could see them talking but I couldn’t hear what they were saying.

“She’s really nice,” Levi said giving me a little smile.

“Mikasa?”

“Yeah, she’s trying to convince Armin to be nicer to me.” He let a little chuckle slip, “She just told him that you seem to get along with me so for your sake can he pull his head out of his ass.”

“Sound like something she’d say,” I laughed. “I think you two would get along if you really got to know each other. You have a similar sense of humor and both of you guys are very blunt about stuff.” Maybe you two could become friends? I asked mentally not really sure how he’d take that.

“I don’t know about that. I’ve never been good at making friends,” Levi smiled.

“We became friends,” I said and Levi shook his head.

“No, we skipped straight to boyfriends remember.”

“You say that, but I clearly remember us being friends before that,” I smiled and he rolled his eyes.

“Well, that’s different. You forced your way into being my friend, which thank you for that, but not everyone is as stubbornly persistent as you.”

“Hey you two are falling behind,” Mikasa said turning around. She gestured for us to catch up and her and Armin stopped and waited for us. We were more than a few steps behind them but when we caught up I realized there would be no way for us to whisper anymore since they could hear anything we would say.

“So, where are we heading? Should we head down to the shops or towards the park?” Mikasa asked looking to us.

“Wherever is fine,” I said with a smile and Levi nodded.

“Guess it’s up to you, lead the way to whichever and we’ll follow,” Armin said to Mikasa and she nodded. “Well, why don’t we go to the shops first and then if we want then maybe we can head down to the park."

“Sounds good,” I said and she nodded before having us turn the corner up ahead.


	27. The Shopping District

We made it to the shopping district. Some shops are big some small some weren't even buildings. This place is like an outdoor mall. Which I thought looked nicer than an actual mall. Though to some people, it might not look like much during the day. I've always liked this place because it has some beautiful scenery around it. Especially at night, this place is breathtakingly beautiful.

During the day the shops are nice and aired out with most of them having tons of windows. All the walkways are mostly shaded by trees. There are paths that lead behind the buildings to a garden where there are smaller vendors and a picnic area. At the dead center of the garden, there is a huge fountain that is almost mesmerizing to watch as the water dances and the sunlight shimmers on the surface. There's even a little park attached for children however, it's not the park we usually go to since it's always crowded and kinda small.

At night this place lights up with the rope lights that string across the paths overhead. Some even change colors. Some shops have light decorations on the backs of the buildings to help light up the garden area. The rope lights over the garden have vines growing across them. Even the fountain lights up its water changing colors from the lights underneath it.

This place even when its chaotic with people still has a sense of calming peace to it. There are tons of benches and tables scattered around this place since there is a lot of walking involved.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and Levi leaned a little closer to whisper to me, "hey Mr. Writer those visuals are so breathtaking you're going to suffocate me," He said before smiling at me.

I let out a laugh which caused Armin and Mikasa to turn around. Levi stopped smiling and looked at the ground. I felt a little bad. I know you don't want to be here and that you really don't like other people but I'm glad you're here. Isn't that so selfish?

Levi looked up at me before flicking his eyes back to Armin and Mikasa. When he noticed they had looked away he grabbed my hand, "not at all," he whispered giving my hand a light squeeze. "Sorry, I'm just not used to interacting with people, but if it will make you happy I'll give it a try."

"Don't force yourself on my behalf," I whispered back.

"It's okay, I think it's about time I start putting myself out there again and actually talking to people for once. You can't be a loner forever." He paused for a moment before shrugging, "well you can, but I don't wanna be. Not anymore."

I gave him a smile and his hand a light squeeze. He pulled his hand from mind almost instantly but then I saw as Mikasa turned around. "So where too first?" She asked. "We grabbed a map this time so we won't get lost... again."

Mikasa turned back to look at the map and was trying to figure out where we are on it when Levi whispered to me again, "sorry, I'm still not ready to make our relationship public. I know that's pretty selfish of me but I'm just not ready," he managed to get out before she turned back around.

It's not selfish at all. Don't worry I get it, and it's completely okay. I thought to him and watched as he felt a little more at ease.

"Okay, I figured out where we are any particular shops you want to go to?" She asked looking to Levi. He just let out a shrug. And I could feel his disappointment in himself as he blew his opportunity to actually talk.

"Here, do you want to look at a map?" She asked handing it to him.

He looked up at her and gave her a little smile, "thank you," he said awkwardly and I swear Armin backed up. I took the time to mentally apologize for whatever Armin was thinking. I swear if Armin keeps this up then I don't know how long we can stay friends. Judging people by rumors isn't right and I won't stand around and let him anymore.

"Um, this area looks pretty cool," Levi mumbled pointing at the map and showing Mikasa.

She took a look and smiled, "oh this is where we went last time. It is cool you'll love it," she said before looking to the rest of us, "so what do you say guys why don't we head there?

"That's good with me," I said.

Armin just shrugged, "I don't see why not."

We walked and Mikasa hung back a little more since the pathways were wider we were able to all walk together. Well, mostly Armin ended up tailing behind us, and not because he had to. I almost wanted to pull him aside and tell him to knock it off, but I stopped paying attention to it. I told Levi to just ignore him too. The only day he's going to ruin is his own.

After walking for a moment Mikasa tried to strike up a conversation involving everyone. "Isn't this place awesome, what do you guys think?"

"You already know I love it here," I smiled.

"What about you Levi what do you think?"

"It's very beautiful, the scenery is breathtaking." He said and I mentally called him out. Hey, you're stealing my words.

He just looked at me and gave me the slightest of nods with a quick smile.

"I completely agree," she smiled, "what about you Armin what do you think?

"It's alright," he mumbled.

She let out a small hopeless sigh and rolled her eyes before putting a smile back on her face. I think she was doing the same thing as us and just ignoring his attitude and letting him ruin his own day.

I watched as Mikasa asked Levi a direct question this time and I could feel a slight panic radiate off of him before he took a deep breath and suppressed that emotion. "So what shops are you excited to look at."

"Well, there was a tea shop and a book store in that area so I think I'm most excited to look at those."

"Wait there's a bookstore?" I heard Armin asked from behind us.

"That's what I read on the map," Levi said nervous rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh, well I hope it's still there," Armin mumbled before letting himself slip back behind us.

Oh, Armin if only you would be more open-minded you'd see you and Levi actually have some common interests. Hell you guys even read some of the same books

"We do?" Levi whispered to me.

"Yeah some of the books you read looked familiar and it just hit me why they look so familiar, it's because Armin reads them too," I whispered back.

I could see the wheels turning in his head. Levi has a plan of some sort, I can feel it.

 

Eren was right I did have a plan. If we have a common interest then that means maybe just maybe if he picks out a book I've read or am planning on reading I can maybe talk to him about that. Or maybe vise versa if he sees me pick up a book maybe he'll talk to me. it seems his interests cut past his dislike for me.

I don't really care what people think about me, but for Eren's sake I don't want him losing friends because they don't like me

What does he even know about books? He probably reads books about famous serial killers and takes notes or some creepy stuff like that. Armin's thoughts cut through once again. With some more insults. I just tried to ignore them once again.

I really hope Levi is having fun, I mean he doesn't look like he's not having fun, but he's very hard to read. I just hope Armin's negative attitude isn't getting to him. Mikasa's thoughts came through too. Her thoughts have been fairly nice this whole time, she's mostly just trying to include everyone and be nice. She actually wants to get to know me which I find nice yet terrifying.

Sorry about Armin, please just try and ignore him I'll deal with it later. Eren's thoughts came through with the same thought he's been thinking throughout the day. His thoughts have been all over the place. He's been worrying over me but also getting increasingly annoyed with Armin as well as just trying to enjoy himself.

I had to take a few deep breaths every so often to stay calm and just clear my head. There were too many thoughts and emotions it was getting too overwhelming.

I tried just focusing on Eren's thoughts, but it didn't work the others were in such close proximity that it was nearly impossible to focus just on one thought without the others cutting through. It got even worse when we passed groups of people. Everything would come through at once as a jumbled mess and it was hard to keep my head straight.

I might have to give up and put my headphones on, but I didn't want to do that too early since it may come off as rude. The last thing I need is more fuel for Armin to hate me.

I just have to endure it for a little bit longer. Besides I've had headaches worse than this one. My skull doesn't feel like it's splitting just yet. I do have to be careful though. If it gets too close to my breaking point chances are I'll pass out.

We walked for a little longer with an awkward silence between us. Mikasa's thoughts kept trying to think of things to say to strike up another conversation. Armin's thoughts were still so bitter and just downright insulting and Eren's thoughts are just all over the place. I was relieved when Mikasa finally spoke up saying we had made it to the shops we were looking for. My head was hurting from trying to tune out all the chaotic voices in my head.

“Why don’t we check out the book store first?” Eren asked.

“Sure, I think that’s a great place to start since we all seem to like books,” Mikasa nodded and lead us inside.

We made our way inside and I took a look at all the sections and headed to the one I’d normally go too. There were only a few rows of it so I assumed at one point Armin and I will probably bump into each other. The few books Eren recognized in his thoughts would be in this section.

I enjoyed the silence for a while. A few peoples thoughts came in here and there but for the most part, there was nothing but bliss silence. Well until Armin walked close enough that his thoughts started flooding into my head.

For once he didn’t seem to be bashing me in his head rather than just enjoying looking at some books.

He turned on the row while I was looking at a book. I heard his thoughts change from pleasant back to negative. What is he doing here? Is he following me now? Great I’ve got a psychotic murder on my ass now.

I took a deep breath and just ignored him. I pretended to not even know he was there. I finished reading the back of the book and picked up the next two in the series before mumbling to myself, “maybe I should try these out for a change.”

Armin’s thoughts focused in on what I said. Wait, what? He likes these kinds of books. Wait I’ve read that series before. It was actually really good though it took a little while to get started. The first 50 or so pages are kinda boring.

Well, that’s good to know, I’m just glad he didn’t decide to spoil it in his thoughts. That would have really sucked.

“Oh, hey,” I turned around finally “noticing him”.

“Um, hi,” Armin said his muscles tensing.

“Oh that book is really good,” I said pointing to the one in his hands. It was one I had just finished not long ago.

“Oh, it is?” He asked looking down at it. “I was debating about getting it since it doesn’t seem very interesting on the back, but there are some aspects that sound like they might be really good.”

“Oh, the backs description doesn't do the book justice in the slightest. I don’t know how many times I ended up putting it back until I actually picked it up and read it.”

“Oh,” Armin said looking down at the book again. He took a moment to think. To any normal person, it might look like he was debating about the book, but he was actually debating about me. His thoughts were confused. He kept running through the rumors of me and comparing them to what he had just heard and things weren't adding up.

Supposedly he’s really mean and never talks to anyone, but he just spoke to me and gave me a book recommendation. He’s supposed to punch anyone that lays their eyes on him or dares to talk to him, but I just spoke with him and he didn’t even give me a glare. He actually kinda smiled at me? Armin’s thoughts went further down the rabbit hole.

“Oh there you are,” Eren said turning on the row before seeing Armin was here too.

“Um, I found this book and thought it might be something up your alley,” Eren said handing it to me. You said you’ve never read anything like my writing before and that's why you liked mine. Well, it seems this one is kinda like mine. Eren thought before showing me the book.

“Oh, I’ve read this one before,” I said looking at the cover. “It was pretty bad. There were no details and the consistency falls flat on its ass.” I said remembering how I almost didn’t finish the book, but I forced myself to with the false promise that it would get better. It never did, even the ending was trash. “It’s nothing like your writing,” I whispered and Eren lets out a little smile.

“Well, I’m glad you told me I almost picked up a copy,” Eren laughed. “Anyway, I’m going to go put this back.” And let you two get back to whatever you were talking about. He thought before leaving the row.

“The series you picked out is really good,” Armin spoke up finally. It seems he’d finally made up his mind to learn more about me to test his theories about other rumors that may or may not be true.

“Oh really? I was wondering about that, you’ve read it?” I asked already knowing the answer but wanted to give him the chance to talk.

“Yeah, the first 50 paged or so are a little dry but that’s just because it’s establishing everything for the series I promise it’s worth it if you push past those.”

“Oh okay, I’ll have to keep that in mind,” I smiled looking down at the books. “Do you know any other great books that I could check out? I’m running out of stuff to read,” I asked and his eyes lit up.

“Yeah, Follow me, there’s another really good series on the next row,” He said before grabbing my arm lightly and excitedly leading me over to the next row. When we turned on the row he had realized he was holding my arm and quickly let go, but in all honesty, I didn’t mind. I watched as another rumor got debunked in his head. If you touch Levi he will break your hand. Armin thought before realizing that I never even tried to do such a thing.

He stopped in front of a series that had an eye-catching cover. I normally don’t judge the books solely on the front, but props to whoever designed the cover.

“There are around 5 books in total and there's a few branch off series. I know that might be a lot but this is one of my favorite series. It gets really interesting.”

I looked at it and was trying to figure out how many books to pick up today. I knew I probably shouldn’t buy all of them I already had 3 in my hand and now the 5 on the shelf, though I’d probably need too since my stack of books is awfully low. I just decided I would but either the 3 books or the 5 books depending on what Armin recommended me.

“Which one would you recommend first? These,” I said holding up the one already in my hand, “or those,” I said pointing to the ones still on the shelf.

“Those hands down, but I'm a little bias since they are my favorite,” He shrugged.

“I think I’ll try them out and then the next time I go looking for books I’ll pick these three up,” I said before walking back to where I found the series I was holding and set it down before walking over and picking up the five books.

“You’re picking up all five?” He asked, “what if you don’t like them?”

“I’m sure they will be great, and besides once I start a series I usually have to see it through to the end, and I read rather fast so…” I let my voice drift off.

“I get what you mean,” He laughed.

“Well, I think I’m done. Any other books you’re planning on picking out?"

“Well, I looked at a few others, but they didn’t really catch my interest. Do you have any great ones to recommend?" He asked and I smiled.

“Sure,” I said before looking down the row before my eyes landed on one of my go too books. Whenever I run out of books and have to reread this is the book I go to.

“This one is really great, I’ve read it so many times I could probably recite the whole story word for word,” I laughed nervously pointing it out to him.

“Okay, I’ll try this one,” he said not even looking at the description.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’ll take your word for it I mean You’ve certainly taken my word for the series,” He shrugged.

“Yeah,” I smiled.

Armin picked out one more book by my recommendation before deciding he was done too. “We should find the others and head up to pay,” he suggested.

“Yeah, do you know where they’d be?"

“Well Mikasa is definitely in the horror section, and Eren’s either in the romance or he's in the horror too.”

“Those sound like the complete opposite genres,” I let out a little laugh.

“Yeah, he likes a lot of different genres but those two are definitely his favorite," Armin shrugged.

We made our way to the romance section and Eren wasn’t there. “Guess they are in the horror. We walked to the horror section and there they both were talking about some of the books.

“Hey, are you guys ready to go?” Armin asked.

“Yeah, I got what I wanted,” Mikasa said before turning to Eren. “Are you done?”

“Yeah, how about you two?”

“Yup,” Armin answered happily. “Levi gave me some great book recommendations,” he said smiling at me before showing them the three books he picked out.

“Armin recommended me this series and it looks like it will be really good,” I shrugged.

“That’s awesome,” Mikasa said. She was glad we were getting along finally.

Oh, so that was your plan. Clever man, use your common interest as an excuse to get him to know you more. Eren said finally figuring it out. I just gave them a nod and we headed up to the cashier.

After getting rung up we headed over to the tea shop since Mikasa noted that I wanted to stop there and they all agreed that they wanted to take a look. I just took a breath and fought against the growing headache. I felt a little dizzy when we passed a group of especially loud people on the way and I felt my body sway for a split second before catching myself.

Today was going to be a long day, but at least it will be fun that is if I make it to the end of it without passing out first.


	28. Headache

We made it to the tea shop. It was right around the corner, but even that walk felt like forever. My body was swaying a little and I knew that it was a warning of what was to come. When we got into the tea shop it was quiet and I felt a little better. Especially since the smell of the shop was so calming to me.

I took a deep breath and felt a little better. Eren and Mikasa had started talking about something when I excused myself to go look down a row. “Oh, I’ll come too,” Armin said before happily trailing behind me.

Wow, did his personality do a 180? Not even 10 minutes ago he hated me and now he's following me around like a lost puppy. Even his thoughts seemed to change for the better. Rather than insulting me in his thoughts he was complimenting me.

Levi’s so cool, Eren was right he’s actually really nice. He has really good tastes in books. Maybe I can talk to him some more. Armin’s thoughts flooded into my head. It was a nice change from earlier, but it was weird. I’m used to the insults the negative comments. I’m not used to compliments.

“Um, actually I came with you because I have a confession to make,” Armin started and I turned to him. I already heard what he was going to say because his thoughts have been saying it for the last two minutes, but I never thought he’d actually say it out loud.

“Um alright,” I said giving him the go-ahead to continue.

“Well, I wanted to say that um, that I’m sorry. I heard some rumors about you and I believed them without a second thought. Then you were nice to me and I realized that I was being an idiot. I shouldn’t listen to rumors and as much as Eren and Mikasa have tried to get it through my head I’ve never listened, but I think the message finally got through, and that’s because of you. So thank you and I’m sorry.” He rambled on speaking rather quickly and keeping his eyes to the ground.

“It’s alright. I’m used to it,” I said without even thinking.

“Oh.” His tone changed. Shit that was the wrong thing to say. His guilt stabbing me in my chest like several daggers.

“I’m glad that you won’t be listening to rumors anymore,” I said trying to change this back to a more positive note.

“Never again,” he nodded giving me a little smile. His guilt hadn’t fully gone away, but it lessened a little. I picked out some of my favorite tea as well as a new flavor I’ve been wanting to try before making my way to the front to pay. It seems I was the only one really interested in this store since Mikasa and Eren already looked done. When I got closer to them their thoughts confirmed that theory. Neither of them really drank tea it seems.

I heard in Armin’s thoughts that he does like tea, but he’s already stocked up in his favorite flavor. We all headed to one more store by Mikasa’s recommendation. She said it was fairly new and that they didn’t get to check it out last time. I smiled and told her we should go despite feeling worried that I was going to collapse at any moment.

I took a deep breath and Eren gave me a worried look. His thoughts started to get worried. What’s wrong? Is something wrong? You’re looking a little pale. Are you feeling okay? His thoughts flooded into my head.

I just gave him a little smile and a tiny thumbs-up before trying to tune out his thoughts. I know he was just trying to help, but my head was throbbing and his thoughts were pounding at my skull.

We made it to the shop. It looked like one of those weird knick-knack shops that sold a little bit of everything. Just looking at the front of the show I could already see a lot of weird things.

“You guys sure you want to go in?” Mikasa asked looking at us.

“Yeah, it looks cool,” Armin said before looking to me and Eren.

Eren just looked at me, he still seemed a bit worried. “I mean it looks interesting from out here might as well check it outright?” I said and Mikasa nodded.

I followed her and Armin as they walked into the shop. Eren’s arm caught my wrist before I could get very far. “You are okay right?” He asked and I just gave him a smile.

“Never better,” I lied. I mean it wasn’t a total lie. Like yeah, I feel like shit right now and like I might drop at any second. However, at the same time, I feel great. This is the first time in years I’ve actually let myself talk to people and have a good time. Eren let go of my arm but stayed close to my side throughout the store.

Armin walked up and showed Eren and me a little knick-knack before saying, “Hey look it’s Mikasa,” he held up a black cat wrapped in a red fabric that kinda looked like the scarf she was wearing.

“Ha, very funny,” she rolled her eyes before a grin slid over her face.

“Hey look it’s you,” she said, pointing at a little painted picture of a baby.

Armin just rolled his eyes and pouted. “Not even close,” he huffed.

“Mikasa you’re obviously mistaken,” I said with a little smile, “this is obviously Armin,” I said before pointing to a glass knick-knack of a little blond girl.

Mikasa and Eren burst into laughter. Armin just looked at the knick-knack then back to me. “I’m not even going to say you’re wrong. Just get me a dress and we could twin,” he said before bursting into laughter too.

We walked around the store looking at all the cool decorations before a few more people started to come into the store. There were too many people in such a close proximity to me. There were always people down a row and there was no escape from the growing headache. I started to feel dizzy and when I felt a little off-balance, I finally gave up.

I took a deep breath and whispered, “I can’t do this anymore,” so Eren could hear me, but it seems Eren wasn’t the only one who heard cause Armin and Mikasa turned around to look at me.

I pulled my headphones out of my pocket before quickly connecting it to my phone. I kept the music low so I could hear everyone, but loud enough to silence everyone's’ thoughts.

Mikasa just kinda shrugged, but Armin had to ask. “What’s with the headphones? Is something wrong?” He seemed more worried than offended which is good, but I still felt bad. I didn’t really know how to answer without telling them about my power.

“Oh, Levi gets nervous around big crowds of people and the music helps him calm down. He can still hear us perfectly fine it just helps him relax,” Eren said. Man do I need to thank him later because he really just saved my ass. He gave me a smile the second their eyes were off of him.

“Oh alright, if it gets to be too much you can tell us and we’ll head back," Armin said and Mikasa nodded. We continued walking around the store and Eren grabbed my hand when we fell behind the other two. I gave it a light squeeze as a thank you. He just smiled and we kept walking.

“Anyone getting hungry?” Mikasa asked,

“I’m starving,” Armin answered.

“Alright, should we head to the garden?” Eren suggested.

Everyone nodded and we headed off to the garden. Apparently there was a lot of food vendors back here that made some pretty good food for a reasonable price. We all found something and spilt up for a moment before meeting back up at a table near the fountain.

My headache had gone away and I was feeling great. We were in a quieter area and I thought it would be okay to take off my headphones. Besides, I didn’t want them questioning why I still had them on even if it was just them. Anything to make sure they didn’t figure out the real reason my headphones were on.

I was starting to get used to their thoughts. It was still a little much for me to handle completely but it wasn’t so overwhelming this time. Probably since I’ve been dealing with it all day. We started talking about stuff and soon enough someone had brought up school.

“Hanji says she’s going to try and help me be able to control my phasing even when my emotions take control,” Armin said.

“That’s cool,” Eren sighed.

“What’s wrong?” Mikasa asked him. Even if I couldn’t hear his thoughts I would know what was getting Eren down all of the sudden.

“The teachers are keeping something from me. I’m not sure what all I know is that it has something to do with my powers. They even are keeping their notes and findings to themselves.”

“That’s strange,” Mikasa started, “are you sure? Could it be just in your head?”

“No, I thought it might be at first until a teacher flat out told me that he wasn’t allowed to tell me what he knows and that I have to figure it out for myself.”

“That's really strange,” Armin said before turning to me. “Don’t you think so?”

“I mean yeah it’s weird, but the teachers usually know what they are doing.” I shrugged. I heard Eren let out a huff. I know that’s not what he wants to hear, but maybe it’s what he needs to hear.

Slowly my headache started coming back the more time I spent with them around me the more their thoughts rattled around in my skull. I took a deep breath and let them continue on with their conversation as I slowly faded my voice out until I was just listening to them talk. I needed a break from talking because talking meant thinking about what I had to say and that meant more thoughts cramming into my mind.

I heard different voices once I didn’t recognize started to appear. That’s when I noticed a huge group of people who came and sat at the table next to ours. I shot straight up and was about to pull my headphones out of my pocket when the world went black.


	29. Back to the Dorms

I opened my eyes my head searing with pain. I could feel my body shaking. I overdid it. I was on the ground and Eren was leaning over me. Armin and Mikasa were behind him. Behind them, a crowd of people had formed a circle around us. Eren had reached into my pocket and was hooking up my headphones when I heard him say, “He’s okay everyone he’s just really dehydrated we’ll take care of him.”

The crowd slowly broke away and Eren asked me if needed help up or if I needed to stay down for a minute more. “I can get up,” I said and he gave me his hand to help me. Between the overwhelming thoughts, the head-splitting headache, and standing up way too fast I blacked out.

“What just happened? Is he okay?” Armin asked looking at me and Eren. He looked worried and I could tell he was since he was starting to become a little transparent.

“Yeah, maybe you should sit down you still look a bit pale,” Mikasa added. She and Eren helped me sit back on the chair.

“I’m okay. How long was I out?”

“A little over a minute,” Armin said looking at his watch, “I timed it.”

“Wait we’re supposed to ask you some questions,” Mikasa said before looking me in the eyes, “what’s your name?”

“Levi Ackerman.”

“What day is it?”

“Sunday.”

“Where are you right now?”

“At the garden,” I said before shaking my head, “look I’m really fine.”

“If you’re fine why did you pass out like that? You scared us half to death.” Armin said before taking a few breaths upon realizing he was see-through.

“I got super overwhelmed when I saw that group of people. Sometimes when I get overwhelmed I faint, it also didn’t help that I stood up really fast,” I said with a little shrug.

“Oh it all makes sense now,” Armin said and I made a confused face.

“What does?”

“Why you’re always avoiding people at school.”

Sure let's put it that way, “yeah.”

Well, if you are okay to walk we should probably head back to the dorms besides it’s getting late already it’s already almost 4 and we still have a 30 or so minute walk.

“Yeah I’m okay to walk,” I said standing up.

Mikasa leads the way with Armin by her side. She was still trying to calm him down since he was still really worried about what happened. Eren slowed his pace to walk next to me.

We were far enough behind them that they couldn’t hear if we whispered. “Is that really what happened?” Eren asked. It doesn’t take a mind reader to know that Eren would have questions about what happened. I just hope he isn’t mad that I told him I was okay when I wasn’t.

“It is true, but for a different reason. It’s not that I get overwhelmed per se but that there is so much going on and my brain can’t keep up with it everything that’s being thrown at me.” I tried to think of an example I could give him since I felt his confusion.

“It’s like someone lifting 20-pound weights and then trying to go straight to 100 pounds and passing out from the strain and shock it’s putting on the body. Same thing with me. I’m used to being around a lot of people and focusing on one person’s thoughts, but not when everyone is in such close proximity. Since my power works best the closer I am to a person I’m used to tuning out the people in the class since they sit farther away from me. However, when everyone is super close to me it’s nearly impossible to focus on just one person’s thoughts since it’s not what I’m used to. So in a sense, it’s like my brain is “lifting” more than it’s used too and I black out,” I said before looking up at Eren to see if he was able to follow all of that.

“I see,” Eren nodded, “I wish you would have told me this earlier, or at least told me that you weren’t feeling okay,” Eren said his body radiating his worry.

“I know, I’m sorry. It’s just for once I was actually having fun and I didn’t want to ruin that by having to go back to the dorms,” I sighed, “if there is a next time I’ll tell you.”

“That’s all I ask,” Eren said giving me a smile. “Wait did you say you had fun?” He asked. It seems what I said just clicked in his head.

“Yeah, thank you for being the reason I came with you guys.”

Before Eren could answer Mikasa turned around, “you alright guys? You’re falling behind,” She said. They were quite a few steps in front of us and they had stopped walking to wait for us to catch up.

“You sure you’re feeling okay? Do we need to take a break and sit for a minute?” Armin asked me when we caught back up to them.

“I’m okay, we can keep walking,” I said giving him a friendly smile.

We continued walking until we made it back to the school. Eren was still stuck to my side. I had whispered to him a few dozen times that he didn’t have to worry. I wasn’t going to faint again.

He would nod and think, but just in case you do I’ll be right here to catch you this time. His thoughts were filled with worry. I could tell he was still really shaken up about what happened. His thoughts would flash back to what happened earlier. I could see how I looked from his view. It wasn’t pleasant and I could see why he was worried. That clear visual of me passing out in front of him. The sound my body made when it hit the floor. Everything was echoing through his head over and over again.

I looked at Armin and Mikasa who were to busy talking about other things. I reached down and grabbed his hand giving it a light squeeze. “I’m okay, really,” I whispered giving him a soft smile. I don’t really know what to do. I’ve never had someone worry about me this much before all this is quite new to me.

“I know,” he mumbled before his thoughts continued. I’m still just a little shaken up is all. It really scared me when I saw you go down.

“Sorry,” I mumbled squeezing his hand again. This time the guilty feeling was coming from me.

“Alright guys,” Mikasa said before turning around. I let go of Eren’s hand and shoved my hand in my pocket which only made me feel guiltier. “We’re going to drop you off at your dorm. Levi, you should probably get some rest.”

“It’s okay, I’m feeling a lot better now,” I shrugged.

“I’m glad to hear,” she smiled. Armin seemed happy to hear me say that too.

We made it to our dorm and we invited them inside for a few minutes. We all sat down on Eren’s side of the room. I took a few deep breaths as their thoughts started flooding my head again.

Eren started to notice that this time I was feeling a little overwhelmed since I heard him ask me in his thoughts, Oh shit are you okay?

I just gave him a slight smile to let him know I was okay. It was only a mild headache. Well mild compared to earlier. My headache earlier felt like someone was ripping my skull apart with their bare hands.

“Alright, well we should be heading back to our own rooms,” Armin said looking at me. He started to notice that something was wrong too. I guess I was quieter than normal which I didn’t think was possible since I usually stay pretty quiet. His thoughts started thinking about earlier and I guess to him I looked exhausted and pale.

Okay, I’m not used to one person worrying about me let alone three. Mikasa had noticed the others worried glances and I guess she saw whatever they saw. That's when my own thoughts screamed at me.

You fucked up. You let people get close to you and there will be consequences. You’ll lose them too. I took a deep breath and gave them all a smile. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost? Did I die back there?” I asked.

“No, you just look really tired,” Mikasa said before standing up. “We should let you get some rest.”

“Yeah, you look really pale like you’re going to pass out again,” Armin added standing up next to Mikasa.

Don’t overdo it please, if you’ve had enough just say so. Eren’s thoughts told me.

“Oh, I guess I wore myself out today,” I shrugged, “that you for your concern I think I’m going to lay down for a while,” I said giving Eren a nod.

Eren knew I was at my limit before I did. I just realized how bad my headache was and how dizzy I was feeling. I really did overdo it today for the first time in years.

“Get some sleep,” Mikasa said giving me a sweet smile.

“Feel better soon,” Armin added before they finished saying goodbye to Eren I headed over to my side of the room behind the wall.

When I heard them leave I heard Eren walk up to the wall and knock. “You don’t have to knock you know,” I said before sitting up in my bed.

“Sorry,” Eren said appearing around the wall rubbing his neck.

“We can actually push that back,” I shrugged. He looked at the wall for a minute before pushing it until it was folded all the way.

“Much better,” he mumbled.

“I think I do need to get some rest though, you guys were right about that,” I said, feeling the pure exhaustion settle throughout my body.

“Oh alright then I’ll let you get some rest,” Eren said heading back to his side of the room.

That’s not what I wanted. I took a breath before opening my mouth I sat there with it open for a second before letting out a frustrated sigh. Why was it so hard to tell him what I wanted.

“Something wrong?” Eren asked turning around. He heard me sigh.

“Um, I just-I-well- I was thinking maybe- um-” I cut myself off taking a deep breath before saying everything all at once really fast, “I was thinking maybe you can lay with me if you want you don’t have to though.”

I didn’t even know if he had caught what I said until I saw him smile and his thoughts were really happy. “I’d love to lay with you,” he said before walking over and stopping just before my bed. “But won’t my thoughts give you a headache? Or interrupt you?”

“No,” I said quickly. Is that what he’s worried about? “Your thoughts never give me a headache,” I said before giving him a smile. I mean when one person is next to me and I only hear their thoughts than it never hurts my head, but even when there's a lot of people around I feel like Eren’s thoughts are more calming than the chaotic thoughts that are thrown at me by others that I barely know.

“You sure?” He asked a little hesitant.

“Positive,” I smiled, “you and your thoughts actually help me sleep better,” I said and he smiled before climbing into my bed and cuddling up next to me.

“Good to know,” he said his arms wrapping around me pulling me close. A second wave of exhaustion passed over me and I knew that I couldn’t stay awake much longer. I felt my eyes close and it took seconds before I fell asleep.


	30. The Calm Before the Storm

Levi opened his eyes and I gave him a smile. He must have been really tired he slept for a while. I even fell asleep for like an hour and when I woke up, he was still out. “Morning sleeping beauty.”

“What time is it?” He asked rubbing his head.

“A little after 10,” I said looking at the clock.

“What? Why didn’t you wake me up?” He asked shooting out of the bed before letting out a wince and putting his hand up to his head.

“Because you looked like you needed the sleep,” I said before standing up too. “How's your head, it looks like it still hurts.”

“I just have a wicked headache that’s all, it'll go away eventually. Just a side effect from overdoing it,” He shrugged it off. “Let’s pick up some food from the cafeteria and head out to the field it’s late,” Levi suggested and I nodded. We got dressed and grabbed the blanket. Levi grabbed one of his new books and I grabbed one of my notebooks.

After we picked up some food we headed out to the field. We set the blanket out and sat down to eat. It was an easy night. There was no wind and it was just a peaceful night out under the stars. I think I fell asleep a little after midnight. Levi woke me up at 4 am and we headed back to the dorm. We laid in my bed this time. Levi insisted that he wanted to stay awake and that he wasn’t going to fall asleep however he fell asleep before I did. I closed my eyes and let myself drift back to sleep.

 

I woke up and mentally cursed myself. I didn’t want to fall back asleep, but at some point, I must have. I looked next to me and Eren was still fast asleep. I could still feel the headache from the previous day. Sleeping it off didn’t work. There was still a pounding in my head that didn’t show any sign of fading any time soon.

I sat up and carefully got out of Eren’s arms to avoid waking him. There was still a little bit of time left for him to sleep before he should get up for class. Today was Hanji’s class. I wasn’t looking forward to it. It was about power triggers. It was an extra-long class. They had sent an email out saying that Hanji and Erwin would both be there and that students should meet in the school’s gym.

They were going to be talking about power triggers. It’s definitely a serious topic that needs to be addressed. However, that being said I would rather skip this class. It’s a topic that most people avoid talking about since it’s the most tragic events to happen in a person’s life and that can be a very hard topic to talk about without throwing some people into traumatic flashbacks.

One thing is for sure I will really have to be lookout going to the field tonight. Every time there is one of these there is at least someone who thinks about ending it all. Whether they actually decide to go through with it or not is a different story, but it’s chilling enough to hear someone think those things. Any deaths that are preventable should be prevented period.

“Hey, are you okay?” Eren said sitting up in bed.

“I’m fine, sorry did I wake you?”

“More like your feelings woke me,” Eren said and I realized how much I was actually panicking about the class.

“Sorry, just ignore that.” I need to get a hold of myself. I have to keep my head held high. I need to ignore my headache and fully focus on everyone's thoughts no matter the consequences.

“No I’m not going to ignore that you see really scared of something,” Eren said putting his hand on my shoulder.

“I’m just worried about class that’s all.”

“Class?”

That’s right Eren’s still half asleep he probably doesn’t know half of what I’m saying right now.

“Oh that class,” Eren said waking up a little more after thinking it through. I felt worry radiate off him too. “I forgot that class was today,” he sighed.

“Yeah,” I took a deep breath before looking back to him. I mentally weighed my options and I know he’s not going to like what I have to say but I promised I’d tell him so might as well tell him before the fact. “Eren I need to tell you something. Please don’t get mad,” I whispered the last part.

He gave me a confused nod, “Okay?”

“Well, I promised to tell you if I was feeling overwhelmed and like I’m going to pass out,” I said taking another deep breath. “Well today is going to be a stressful day and I’m going to have to push myself more than ever. I have to watch everyone's thoughts to make sure that no one’s thoughts get to negative and well I might end up passing out,” I rushed out my words.

“Oh,” his tone was unreadable but his thoughts were chaotic and panicked.

“Look I just need to know that if I give you the look you will help me whether it be as simple as getting Hanji’s or Erwin’s attention or as much as physically walking out of the class. I need to know you won’t let me pass out in the middle of this class.”

“I can do that,” he said calmly. His tone was the opposite of his still chaotic and panicked thoughts. He’s going to push himself too much. He’s going to pass out again. What if he notifies me too late? What if-.

“Hey don’t worry about it too much, I’ll be fine. I’m going to let Hanji and Erwin know beforehand that I might need to step out at one point. However, I’m just going to tell them it’s because I feel like wearing headphones in that kind of environment might seem rude and disrespectful rather than telling them what I plan to do,” I shrugged. If I told them they would get worried and would probably insist I wear headphones to avoid me hurting myself or whatever.

“Okay,” he nodded his thoughts were still frantic.

I just lean forward and pressed my lips to his. I pulled away from the kiss and put my hand on his cheek. “Stop panicking, I’ll be fine. It’s not the first time I’ve done something like this.” I said knowing I was full of shit. This is probably the most stupid and reckless stunt I’ve pulled. Focusing on so many peoples thoughts at once is mental suicide for me, but I refuse to have another preventable death on my head.

“So you’re going to be okay, it won’t be too bad?” Eren asked.

Nope, this is going to be horrible. “Yup, I’ll be just fine. Just a headache and if it gets worse I’ll let you know.” I said giving him a smile. God, I hate lying to him, but I don’t want him to worry about me too much to the point it distracts him all day. It’s just going to wear us both down faster.

The more I thought about it the more my head already started to hurt. It didn’t help that my head was already sore from overdoing it yesterday. This class is going to be the length of two classes with 3 breaks. This was a 6 hour class with breaks every hour and 30 minutes. The first and last breaks are 30 minutes long but the middle break is an hour for lunch. Today is going to be the longest day of my life.

I excused myself to the bathroom to take a quick shower. I’m usually in and out in 5 minutes. However, I couldn’t shake my thoughts free. My plan is simple yet so complicated. I plan on listening to all the voices together and basically tuning everything out at the same time. This will hopefully make everything sound like a jumbled mess of noise that not even my brain can comprehend. Then I'll listen for keywords and phrases suck as depressed, suicidal, kill myself and other terms that may be necessary. Like a word search that never ends. Wow, my thoughts make this sound so easy, however, I've never tried this before and I don't even know if I'm able to do it. Well, I guess I'll see. Today I'll be really putting my powers to the test.

I finished my shower and hopped out to see that I was in there for 10 minutes. Oh damn, was I really that distracted? Eren excused himself to take his shower. While I waited for him to get out I had to keep reeling in my thoughts to avoid them from wandering too much. The more I think about this the more I stress myself out.


	31. L-Word

When Eren came out of the bathroom we both headed to the gym. We walked by Hanji’s classroom first to see if they were their first since it was still early. All we saw was a note taped to her door telling everyone to head to the gym. “Guess she’s already there,” Eren shrugged.

“She’s probably setting up chairs,” I added. Erwin and Hanji probably had to bring all the chairs into the gym from the classroom.

We headed to the gym and I poked my head in. Sure enough, Hanji and Erwin looked like they just finished bringing the chairs into the gym. “Need help?” I asked and Hanji looked up and gave me a smile.

“I’d appreciate it,” Hanji laughed looking at the stacks of chairs.

Eren followed me in and we helped them fix the chairs how they wanted them. They wanted them in a little bit of a circular area. God this made me feel like it was an AA group or some shit.

Hanji sat down in a chair and slouched down letting out a relieved sigh. Erwin took a seat next to her. “Did you want to say something?” Erwin said looking to me. I was going to ask him how he knew but his thoughts answered for me. You were making a face, he thought.

“Yeah, I wanted to give you guys a heads up,” I said awkwardly rubbing the back of my neck. I prepared myself knowing I was going to feel their worry. “I’m not planning on wearing my headphones during this class-.” Before I could even explain Hanji was already in panic mode.

She had jumped up out of her seat, “What why? That’s going to be painful, are you sure you can handle that? Why would you do that?” She rambled on before Erwin placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Hanji let him finish talking,” he said before giving me a nod to proceed.

“Well, this class is a serious one and I feel like if other kids see me with headphones on, they won’t take it as serious. That and it also just seems like a really disrespectful thing to do. Now, with that being said I don’t know how long I will be able to keep that up, so I need to know that if I give you guys a nod or a look or something I can be excused for a moment. I’ll come back when my head is cleared, but I need to be able to take a mental break if needed.” I explained.

“Of course, we were actually going to give students the option to step out if needed anyway,” Hanji said and I gave her a nod.

“Is it alright if when I go Eren goes too, I asked him this morning to help me since he’s the only one aside from the teachers who knows about my powers, and it’s not like I can ask you guys since you’ll be teaching.”

“Yeah that’s okay,” Erwin agreed, “I’m glad you’re finally confiding in others you’re making real progress,” Erwin said giving me a pat on the shoulder. “I knew you guys would be great friends,” he smiled.

Eren just gave them an awkward smile that I couldn’t help but smile at. “Yeah whatever,” I shrugged it off hoping to get off the topic.

“I think they’re a little more than friends,” Hanji nudged Erwin with her elbow. Oh god, this is the last thing I need right now.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I asked rolling my eyes.

“Well you seem to have had a good weekend with each other,” She shrugged.

“Just what the fuck are you insinuating?” I couldn’t help but get defensive since we actually didn’t do what I think she’s talking about.

“Well, unless you’ve suddenly caught feelings for me or Erwin the only explanation is that you've fallen for Eren. And by the way, he's been looking at you I assume the feelings mutual. Which means you two probably know and are dating.” She said giving me a wicked and smug smile.

“Hanji stop making shit up,” I said sort of as a last attempt, but I’m sure it was a futile statement at this point.

“Hey, I’m not the one radiating feelings of love,” she said with a smug grin.

“Woah wait, love is a strong word," I shook my head before looking to Eren whose face had exploded. He was staring at the ground and his thoughts were very chaotic at the moment.

"It's a strong feeling too," Hanji said back “and I am feeling it full force from you." With those words, I felt my face explode with heat. I went to open my mouth to say something, anything, but instead, I just sat down in one of the chairs defeated.

“Well, that happened,” Eren quietly mumbled with the biggest smile on his face. He was radiating joy. Probably cause Hanji just told him that I loved him. Oh god, the L-word, it’s way too soon for that, yet Hanji just threw that at both of us. Eren just sat down next to me and put his hand on my shoulder as I death glared the floor imagining Hanji’s head on a wooden stake.

"Hanji stop embarrassing them," Erwin said trying to keep a straight face, but I could tell that he was very happy for us.

Hanji and Erwin broke off into their own conversation while Eren just sat next to me his thoughts just as chaotic as mine. “So that was interesting,” he said awkwardly.

“We don’t have to talk about it, we can just pretend that never happened,” I said quickly.

“Don’t wanna,” he said, putting his hand on mine. Since they know is it okay if I kiss you? His thoughts asked and my face which had just started calming down reddened again.

“They’ll stare at us,” I mumbled.

“They are distracted with their own conversation,” Eren said with a cheeky smile.

“Hanji will know she always knows. She’ll stop her conversation and just stare at us.”

“So what, then let her stare,” He said and I rolled my eyes. He really wanted to kiss me and I can’t say the feeling wasn’t mutual. I took a deep breath and sighed. “Fine.”

Eren placed a hand on my cheek and leaned in. His lips gently pressed against mine before pulling away. It was just a quick kiss, but it still gave me butterflies. I looked over and Hanji was smiling at us while Eren was looking away. Hanji had elbowed him and he glanced at us before giving us privacy, unlike Hanji’s nosey ass.

“You guys are so adorable,” she squealed before Erwin elbowed her.

“Hanji, would you stop being so nosy,” He rolled his eyes before pulling her away from us so we could talk with a little more privacy. He distracted her with the lesson plan. I need to thank him later, and I couldn’t help but agree with the last thought I heard of his before he was out of range. We need to put a leash on her or something, his thoughts said before they faded from my head.

When they were far enough away I leaned forward and placed a kiss on Eren’s lips returning the favor. This one was a little longer than the last one.

There was a knock on the gym's door and I nearly jumped back before apologizing to Eren.

“Hey it’s fine,” he smiled. Don’t worry about it. His thoughts said and he really seemed to understand that I just wasn’t ready for people to know about us.

The door opened and Jean walked in, “We’re meeting here right?” He asked.

“Yup, you can come in and take any seat you want,” Erwin said and Jean took one look at Eren and me before walking over to Eren sitting on the other side of him. He was a little cautious and he was feeling really uncomfortable.

“Hey dude, how’s it been, how was your weekend,” he asked striking up a conversation with Eren.

His thoughts weren’t as friendly. He really didn’t like me. He was scared of me and definitely believed most of the rumors that were circulating, hell he might have even started a few. Marco was my roommate and probably told him how weird I was. Like how I just never spoke or even took my headphones out, or how I was never in the room at night.

Why is he sitting next to Levi? I mean I know he said Levi’s not that bad, but what the hell does he know he’s only known him for like what a week? I’ve been in the same classes with him for a while and he is definitely a freak. Jean's thoughts trampled their way into my head.

Ouch, well I knew his thoughts wouldn’t be pleasant. So I can’t really say I’m surprised.

Eren made small talk and just told him that his weekend was great and he just hung out with some friends before asking how his weekend was.

“My weekend was great,” Jean smiled.

“Oh, what did you do?”

“I um-” he paused for a minute before leaning into Eren’s ear so I couldn't hear. Jokes on him, I heard the rest through both Eren and Jean’s thoughts. Well, I didn’t really leave my room, hell I barely left the bed all weekend. He told Eren.

I couldn’t help but mentally laugh at the fact he whispered it to stop me from hearing and I’m the one who heard what he said as clear as day whereas Eren had to process what he was saying.

“Oh,” Eren said with an awkward smile, “Sounds like you had fun,” he said with a little laugh.

“Lots,” Jean laughed, “That’s the reason Marco didn’t come with me he needed some extra rest,” he mumbled.

The door opened again and Armin and Mikasa came in. Armin looked like the walking dead but the second he saw Eren and me he livened up a little. “Oh they're here,” he said to Mikasa before walking over to us.

Armin took a seat next to me and Mikasa sat next to him. “How are you feeling? You look a lot better,” Armin asked me and I gave him a smile.

“I’m doing a lot better now that I’ve gotten some rest,” I said and he smiled.

Jean’s thoughts changed to confusion. Did that newbie actually talk to Levi… and did Levi actually talk back? What the fuck is going on.

“Yesterday was really fun, we should all do it again sometime,” Mikasa told me.

“I’d love to, but remind me to put my headphones in,” I laughed awkwardly.

“Oh, trust me I’ll be the one to do that,” Eren answered quickly giving me a glare. I could tell he was still worried about today and that he wasn’t too happy with me not wearing them now.

“Speaking off where are your headphones, shouldn’t you be wearing them?” Armin asked. Shit, I wasn’t counting on him being so observant.

“They're in my pocket, but I don’t want to wear them since others might think it’s rude or disrespectful to wear them when talking about serious matters,” I explained.

“Oh, but still, if you need them then I don’t think people will mind too much. Besides, it’s none of their business what you do.”

Damn Armin’s really changed from yesterday. He went from believing every rumor to telling others to mind their own business. Now that’s what I call progress.

“It’s okay I’ve already talked to the teacher. I told them I wasn’t going to wear them and they said that if I get overwhelmed then I could leave class for a little to calm down.”

“Oh that’s good,” Mikasa said cutting Armin off so he didn’t argue with me about being careful and not overdoing it.

Jean was just listening to all of this his thoughts bouncing back and forth. He’s talking? What do they mean he needs the headphones? Overwhelmed… oh… His thoughts clicked. Oh god, Eren was right I am an asshole for judging him. Does that mean this whole time when everyone thought he was ignoring them he was just trying not to get overwhelmed? Shit, I thought this dude was crazy but he just has social anxiety? Damn, I’m a dick.

Well, I didn’t expect Jean to switch his thoughts on me ever, especially not that quickly. I mean, he’s not wrong with his thoughts he is a dick, but it’s not exactly social anxiety. I have to hand it to him though, his heart in the right place, but his thoughts are a little off.


	32. Torture

More students started to come in and I already felt my teeth start to clench as I tried to toon everyone's thoughts out. If I was going to do this I was going to have to wait until absolutely necessary to start so I just focused on Eren’s thoughts since he was the closest to me. Armin’s thoughts kept creeping into my head since he was sitting next to me too, but I took a breath and tried to ignore the other voices that would slip through.

A few other students walked in and I noticed someone's thoughts get closer. I couldn’t hear what they were thinking clear enough since there were already so many voices in my head. The only thing I heard was a thought that said, I need to tell him. I looked up and Ymir had walked up to me. She was still too far away from me that her thoughts were getting jumbled up with the rest of the voices.

She looked at me and went to speak, but all she did was open her mouth slightly before closing it again and walking away. It’s not the time I heard her thoughts one last time before she walked away. I wanted to get up and ask her what she meant, but I’m afraid I already know. Her power is one that I’ve always envied because when she loses people she doesn't really lose them.

She’s been known to pull people aside and tell them messages from their lost loved ones, and honestly, as much as I’d like to hear what messages she has for me I think I’m better off not knowing. I don’t even know who the messages would be from whether it be from them, from mom, or from that jackass. As much as I’d give to talk to some of those people again I think it would do me more harm than good. I mean it’s my fault they’re gone.

“Alright class,” Hanji said speaking up. She pulled me from my spiraling thoughts and I took a deep calming breath as I tried to prepare myself for the mental torture I was about to endure. “I know this topic is a heavy one so I want you all to know that if at any point you need a break you can leave the gym for a few minutes to clear your head. Also, both Erwin and I will be here during all of the breaks as well as after the class finishes if any of you guys need to talk, and if you don’t want to talk face to face you can always email us.”

I could tell she was worried about this lesson. She knew she had to teach it, but she was still worried about the outcome. There was a cold silence in the room before Erwin started speaking.

“So the first hour and thirty minutes is just the basic break down of what they are and how they work,” he told us.

That shouldn’t be too bad I mean most people probably will be okay with this portion, well, at least the first part of this portion. When they start going deeper into it is when people might have issues, but I still have to watch and be sure that everyone is okay regardless since some people at the mere mention of a power trigger can be thrown into a depressive episode or a traumatic memory.

I waited for them to start talking about it before deciding to open the floodgates. After roll, they took a few minutes to make sure everyone knew this was a safe space and that everyone should remain serious. When they started talking I looked to Eren before giving him a little nod. I took a deep breath and prepared for the head-splitting headache. I knew it would be painful, but I don’t think I really understood just how painful it was. The second I expanded my power my head felt like it was getting ripped open from the inside out. It took everything I had to stop myself from screaming. I closed my eyes and the dizziness took hold.

I will not pass out, I will not pass out I will not pass out. I kept telling myself as I forced my eyes back open. My jaw clenched so hard I swear It's a miracle I haven’t broken any teeth. My hands were clenched so tightly all the blood flow was restricted and I could feel my nails breaking the skin on the palm of my hands. I tried to keep a straight face as I turned all the thoughts into white noise. Just a jumbled mess of voices layered on top of each other. I took a deep breath it was a little more bearable, but not much.

I was just listening for worrying phrases and words. I looked up Eren who was staring at me with the most concern I’ve seen yet. I couldn’t even tell what he was thinking since his thoughts were just apart of the jumbled mess. I assumed he was asking if I was okay so I just gave a nod. Guess I was right because he gave me a tiny smile and a nod back.

I could barely hear what Hanji and Erwin were saying out loud with all the chaos in my head, but I managed to make do with what I could hear. I mean it’s fine I really didn’t want to hear this lesson as is, but I know they are probably going to talk to me later about it to make sure I’m okay. So I should probably know at least a little of what they were talking about.

I tried to focus and finally was able to semi hear what Hanji was saying. “So I think we all know the basics of what a power trigger is and how they work, but we’re going to look past the obvious and go into the science of it.”

Great, just what I need to be bored by the science behind why my life turned to shit. I took a deep breath I could feel the frustration brewing in me. I’m used to getting irritated easily when I have headaches, but this pain is causing me to be more than just mildly irritated.

“Well a majority of people carry certain genes that when put under extreme stress, or life or death situations will often front and do everything they can to protect the body,” Erwin started.

God, I could really care less about this. I would have rather I died back then I never asked for some bullshit genes to save me.

I heard someone's thoughts say, suicide, and I tried to match the voice to a specific thought. It took me a minute but her thoughts kept repeating that word so it was easier to find. I tried to listen and focus on just her thoughts. It was hard at first but I managed to hear enough to figure out what she was thinking.

So that’s why I wasn’t able to kill myself. Because some genes or whatever fronted and caused my power to save me? I mean, all I wanted was to get out of that damn orphanage and just be treated normally. Now I’ll never be treated normally. It still doesn’t make a ton of sense to me all I know is my suicide attempt failed because some stranger was around to be affected by my power. I mean he was just driving along the bridge and then was forced out of his car compelled to help a poor girl who decided to jump. How pathetic of me. I couldn’t even help myself back then and now thanks to my power I never have to do anything for myself even if I want to.

It took me a minute to place the voice but when it finally hit who I was listening to it all hurt a little more. She’s always so happy, always smiling. Though her power always makes me want to keep my distance now I know how it came to be. Poor Christa.

Her thoughts faded away as she changed the topic of her thoughts and I forced them back into the jumbled pile of voices. I felt my body start to shake. I never imagined how hard this would be on me. Hell focusing on voices in a crowd of people that alone zapped most of my energy. It didn’t help that she was one of the people furthest from me. It’s not like Armin or Eren whose right next to me so I really had to focus with that one. I could already feel my body giving out, but we were barely 30 minutes into the class. I just have to keep this up for another hour until I can have a break. Great, this is going to be a long, long day.

I heard another thought come forward. I knew the voice as soon as I heard it. Jean. I heard his thoughts say kill myself. I quickly listened in. This one was a lot easier since he wasn’t sitting too far from me.

I think it’s just now settling in how many times I could have died when I was younger. I mean I slept walked in nothing but sweets in -10-degree weather ended up a town over blue and frozen. If my fire powers didn’t front when it did I would surely have died out there. Not to mention how I could have killed myself when I stuck that fork in the toaster. Thank God for my electricity powers coming in when they did. My poor mother, I must have put her through hell growing up.

I took a deep breath and let his thoughts drift back into the background. Well, that one wasn’t much to worry about now, but damn he’s right he probably put his mom through hell.

They talked more about genes how only a little over half are said to have them. They talked about how some people with them never have them activated and how after the age of 13 it’s nearly impossible for the genes to be activated. Well, at least that was the gist of what I heard.

“Now, this might be a disturbing thing to hear,” Hanji started she seemed really disturbed at whatever she was about to say. Her emotions and her body language were very clear evidence of that.

“Some of you guys might be wondering that if these genes are detectable then why you didn’t know you had them, and I hate to say this, but some of you might even know why,” Hanji said her breath catching in her throat. She looked to Erwin with such sadness in her eyes and at first, I thought it was just so he could take over, but after listening to Erwin speak I realized it was because she knew.

Erwin had to take over for a second and he started talking. “Well, there used to be a time when doctors used to tell the parents if their kids had these genes, but that was quickly stopped.” He took a deep breath too. Even he was having trouble talking about this. I knew why when his emotions felt this pained. He was this affected because he felt it first hand. He was speaking from experience here. “Parents would put their kids in stressful and often abusive situations to force their powers to come forward, some parents would even go as far as staging a life or death situation to ensure their kid gets them.” Erwin stopped talking and Hanji put her hand on his back before picking up where he left off.

I felt my stomach churn. Just hearing that makes me feel sick. How could people do that? I mean I lost my faith in humanity years ago, but I never thought I’d hear something this fucked up.

“Laws were quickly passed to stop doctors from telling parents if their kid has these genes, however, there are still ways to find out and this stuff still happens today,” She said and I heard a thought in the back of my head say, should’ve killed myself. I sorted through the thoughts back to the voice. I found it and listened to what they were thinking.

That’s why I should have killed myself back then. They forced me into these powers and then when they fronted they hated them because they weren’t extraordinary. If I would have killed myself back then I could have saved myself all this grief, but I’m nothing but a coward who couldn’t pull the trigger. A part of me is glad I didn’t since now I have this amazing boyfriend who loves me despite how much of an arrogant dick I can be. However, a part of me wonders if they would even care that I died. Or would they only be upset that they missed their opportunity to exploit me?

It took me a minute to place the voice, Reiner? I looked up at him and he was looking at Berthold with a small sad smile. That explains a lot now. I feel bad for him no wonder he’s so hard to get along with, he’s doing the same thing I was. He’s pushing people away because he’s afraid to trust people again.

I pushed the thoughts back and felt another wave of dizziness hit me. I heard another thought in the back of my head. It was a girls voice again, kill myself. It wasn’t a voice I recognized even slightly. I followed it and listened to what she was thinking.

I thought my childhood was fucked up, but that is just insane. I mean hell my power trigger was no walk in the park. I wonder if my asshole of a dad was trying to do that to me? Force my powers to front? No, he couldn’t have known. Especially since he was surprised when they did front. Man, he wasn’t ready for the ass whooping he got when I finally had enough of his shit.

I mean I know it was wrong and I wasn’t trying to kill him, but he was so close to death by the time the cops came. I didn’t even realize how badly I hurt him. I was just so tired of it all, all the abuse when I could finally inflict some pain back it was a miracle. When I realize what I did I didn’t even feel guilty. I think that’s what really fucked with my head. It wasn’t the fact that I almost killed him, I think it was the fact that I didn’t feel guilty for doing so that led me to my depression.

I mean what kind of human being thinks those kinda things? Not to mention a 13-year-old. I was so convinced that I was a monster that I started believing it. I thought for sure I was better off dead then losing control like that again. I was going to kill myself back in juvie. I remember the night I was planning on doing it Pixis came and told me that he was taking me to this school and honestly I’ve never felt more human. If it wasn’t for him then I would have been dead in a cell before ever really living.

It took me forever to place this person’s voice until she said juvie. I know I don’t usually believe rumors, but in this case, the rumor was true. The only person who has been said to have been to jail or juvie was Annie and suddenly the voice matched. I’ve never known much about her and suddenly I know something that explains a lot about her.

I took a deep breath. All of this felt so wrong. I’m invading so many people's privacy, but at the same time, I don’t want anyone to die. Two of my most conflicting morals. I took a deep breath and check the time. I felt relieved seeing there were only about 15 minutes until the next break. It felt like time was going as slow as possible, but thank god it is moving. I watched the clock as the last 15 minutes slowly counted down. Hanji dismissed us a minute early and the first thing I did was reach in my pockets and pull out my headphones. I put them in and plugged them into my phone.

The room cleared out and Eren stayed right there by my side. I looked at him and just whispered, “Ouch,” before slumping onto his shoulder the second the room was empty. It was just us and the teachers.

“Levi are you okay?” Hanji asked. I went to answer, but nothing came out. My eyes closed and I felt myself blackout. Well, better now than during class.


	33. Friends

My eyes opened a few minutes later to everyone's worried faces, “Sorry, I blacked out for a second,” I mumbled, “I’m okay, just a little tired.”

“You’re not okay,” Hanji said putting her hand against my forehead as a force of habit. She let out a sigh and removed her hand upon realizing what she was doing.

“Look Hanji I’m okay I really am. I just haven’t gotten much sleep lately and I’m exhausted.”

I sat up and locked eyes with Eren whose thoughts were just as panicked as Hanji's, but he wasn’t showing it on the outside unlike she was. I looked to Erwin who was deep in thought. He came to a realization and it was clear on his face I’ve been found out. I didn’t even need to look at his thoughts to know what he figured out.

“Levi,” he started.

“Here we go with the lecture,” I mumbled.

Hanji looked to Erwin and then back to me, “is there something I’m missing?”

“Please tell me I’m wrong,” Erwin said looking at me really worried.

I just shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about?” I mean it’s not like I could read his mind at the moment with my headphones in.

Erwin kneeled down in front of me and pulled out my headphones. “Levi tell me you aren’t doing what I think you’re doing.” He said and I heard his thoughts come through. I don’t want to say it out loud because if I do Hanji will throw a fit. Are you or are you not reading everyone's minds during the class.

I took a deep breath, “so what if I am?” I said with a huff as I put my headphones back in to stop the already forming headache.

Erwin let go of my hand and let out a frustrated sigh. “Fine you leave me no choice,” he rolled his eyes.

Shit, “please don’t,” I mumbled.

“Hanji, this idiot was using his power to read everyone's thoughts,” Erwin said it out loud and I knew I should start digging my grave.

“You’re doing what!” She yelled I swear the whole gym echoed. “Levi that’s dangerous, you can’t! Whatever happened to you not wanting to violate people's privacy? This- ”

I couldn’t take it anymore. I know this violates people's privacy I don’t need that thrown in my face, but at the same time, the prevent deaths moral takes priority here. “Look I know what I’m doing, I just can’t sit by and watch as people die. I’m hoping that no one ends up relapsing or having those kinda thoughts, but I can’t stop thinking about the worst-case scenario. Don’t even try and tell me that there's nothing to worry about, because I know both of you are just as worried and don’t say what I’m doing is irrational, because I know you would be doing the same exact thing if you had my powers.” I’ve been listening to their worried thoughts along with everyone else's and they’ve been worried about how this lesson will turn out. Well, maybe I could actually make a difference.

I took a deep breath before calming down. I didn’t realize how much I had raised my voice. I looked up at them before calmly continuing, “I just don’t want to sit by knowing I could have prevented a death and didn’t.” I took a deep breath and looked Hanji dead in the eyes, “not again.”

She walked forward and took my headphones out before grabbing my hands. Hon that’s not your fault please don’t ever blame yourself for that. Her thoughts were gentle and calming. She gave my cheek a little pinch before giving me a smile. Erwin and her were the only ones to know about my power trigger and what happened in my past. They are the only ones I’ve ever trusted enough to share even a fraction of what happened. Even without knowing everything they know enough, and when I say certain things they know they can’t win.

She took a deep breath before giving Erwin a look. They knew I weren’t going to back down. She let out a deep sigh. “Fine,” she rubbed her temples. “I know it’s pretty useless asking this of you since I know how determined you get, but please don’t push yourself too hard. If you need a break then take it.” She said putting my headphones back in so I didn’t have to do it again.

I gave her a small smile. I know they are just worried about me, but this is something that I have to do. “I will. The last thing I want is to put myself out of commission at the worst time,” I sighed. I gave Eren’s hand a squeeze. “I have him watching my back so if I give him a look he knows to get me out of there.”

“So you knew about this crazy plan of his?” Erwin asked turning to Eren who has been awkwardly watching us argue for the last few minutes.

“Well, yeah, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop him,” Eren shrugged awkwardly not making eye contact.

The door opened and I pulled my hand back and we watched as Armin and Mikasa came back in. “Oh, there you guys are,” Armin said giving us a big smile. He took one look at me and saw my headphones in. “Oh good your headphones are in,” he said and I nodded giving him a thumbs up before turning to Hanji and Erwin.

“They don’t know about my power they just think I get overwhelmed easily without headphones,” I whispered so they didn’t say anything that would expose the truth.

Hanji and Erwin nodded. “Are you all friends?” Hanji asked and Armin happily sat next to me.

“Yup,” he said excitedly.

I felt my cheeks heat up. Oh no. She’s going to embarrass the shit out of me.

“It’s about time,” Hanji cheered, “I thought he would never make friends aside from us, now he has three,” she elbowed Erwin. “Our little boy is growing up,” She said happily.

“Hanji quit embarrassing him,” Erwin rolled his eyes despite also having a big smile on his face. He dragged her away from us with the excuse to work on the next portion of the lesson.

“We got worried when you guys didn’t come out of the gym,” Mikasa said and Armin cut her off.

“Yeah we thought Levi might have collapsed again,” he said and I saw Hanji’s head turn to face us so fast.

“Again?” she asked from across the room.

“Shit,” I mumbled. “I think I need to leave,” I said to Eren.

“Not so fast young man,” Hanji said walking back over to us. “What does he mean, you collapsed?” Her tone was worried, but her emotions were everywhere.

“Erwin help,” I looked and he shook his head. “You reap what you sow.”

“You’re no help,” I said before forcing myself to my feet. “Well, for the rest of my break I think I’m going to go for a walk,” I said before quickly heading to the door. The other three followed me.

“Sorry did I get you in trouble?” Armin asked.

“Only a little, but she’ll get over it,” I shrugged. Hopefully.

After we walked around for a few minutes Jean and Marco joined us, or I should say joined Eren. Jean and Marco were talking to him for a minute while Mikasa and Armin were in their own little conversation. I just stood awkwardly by Eren as he talked with Marco. Jean eventually just let the two talk and he looked at me and opened his mouth to speak. It actually surprised me when words came out of his mouth directed to me.

“Um, hey,” he said quietly.

I just gave an awkward smile and a wave. God, I’m bad at this whole opening up to people. How does one interact with others? How did I become friends with Armin and Mikasa? Well, Mikasa just kinda went with it and Armin I had to connect through interests. Okay, what are Jean’s interests? Marco. Well, that won’t work. Shit, I’m just awkwardly standing here the silence is getting really loud.

“So um, class,” Jean nodded before looking like he was mentally facepalming.

Good, I’m not the only awkward one. “Yeah,” I nodded back.

I watched as Eren tried to keep a straight face watching us. “You guys are so awkward,” Marco finally spoke up before covering his mouth realizing he said that out loud, “sorry.”

“No you’re right,” I let out a little awkward smile before turning back to Jean. “How about we start over,” I said awkwardly rubbing the back of my neck. “Hi, my name is Levi,” I said and Jean looked a little lost as he said his own name.

“Jean,” he said before letting out a smile. “Nope still awkward,” he said laughing a little.

“Dang well, I tried,” I gave an awkward shrug.

Marco just gave me a smile, before asking if he could talk to me alone for a second. “Um sure,” I said looking between Eren and Jean. They looked just as I was.

We walked a little farther away and just kept walking as Marco started to talk. “After two years of being roommates and me trying to be your friend you never once said a word to me, but nowhere you are trying to be friends with everyone,” he took a deep breath, “I don’t get it? Was it just me?”

“No,” I said quickly, “it’s hard to explain, but I’ll try my best since you deserve an explanation. “I was going through something and it was really hard for me to get close to people. I don’t know how but Eren managed to pull me from that mindset and I realized just how much of a dick I was.” I sighed.

“Are you two dating?” Marco asked and my eyes shot up to his.

“Why would you think that?”

“Because of the way you smiled when you said his name,” he said with a smile of his own. “I’ve caught myself doing the same thing when I talk about Jean.”

I let out a sigh and gave him a little nod, “yeah, but um could you maybe not tell anyone about us? I’m not really ready to be outed to everyone,” I lied. I mean being outed doesn’t bother me, but everyone finding out Eren and I are dating still makes me nervous.

“Hey believe me I get it,” Marco nodded, “I won’t tell anyone, “Jean’s the same way.”

“Yeah, I’m just really sorry I didn’t give you a chance earlier you do seem like a really nice guy and I would like to be friends, but if it is too late I completely get it,” I mumbled a little awkwardly.

“Hey I completely get it, I just wanted to make sure that if your issue was with me then I could give you space.”

Damn, that is both really nice and also heartbreaking to hear. “You are too nice,” I mumbled, “but no my issue was just that my brain is an asshole.”

“Well good to know, I’m just glad that it seems you’re finally getting more comfortable around people and that you’re finally able to be yourself.”

“Yeah, it actually feels great to talk to people again,” I said letting a little smile slip onto my face.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Marco said giving me a light pat on the shoulder. We headed back to the rest of the group and were greeted with smiles and two new faces.

“Hey, Levi it looks like people are finally able to talk to you?” Sasha said happily before getting elbowed by Connie.

“That’s mean,” he whispered.

“Well, I don’t know what changed but if you’re making friends then I want to be one of them,” she said giving me a big smile.

“Me too,” Connie said giving me a thumbs up.

Well, even with my headphones on, I'm starting to get a little overwhelmed. However, the feelings of panic don’t even compare to how happy I am right now. I never thought I would have another friend and here I am surrounded by people who want to be friends with me.

“Alright class,” Erwin called from the doorway. “Break’s over.”

“Shit, that’s the last thing I wanted to hear.”


	34. Power Triggers

As we were walking back to the gym Eren asked if I could walk slower. We walked behind everyone else and when there was enough space between us and the others he started talking.

“So this might be a question that is too personal but I keep thinking about what you meant. You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to but I have to ask. What did you mean when you were talking to Hanji you said you couldn’t sit by, not again?”

I choked on the breath in my throat. After I stopped coughing I managed to clear my throat. “Oh, that,” I managed to breath out. “Well,” I took a deep breath, “there have been a few people who died and I could have saved them. I think the most recent one is that Thomas kid.”

“Thomas? The one that was in my class,” he mumbled.

“Yeah, I had noticed him acting weird around campus and a few times I had walked close to him there was a strong presence of depression. I never spoke to him, but one day walking past him on the way to class I could feel that he felt a sickening peaceful feeling. It wasn’t normal it was a feeling that was happiness, but also a great sadness and dread. I knew the feeling before and I was planning on confronting him after class, but I never saw him again.

I tried tracking down his room number, but no one knew where to find him. When Hanji had announced the news the next day I felt absolutely horrible. I ended up walking out of class and spending the rest of the day in the bathroom sick to my stomach. That was the first night I spent out on the field.”

That’s the only one I can really bring myself to talk about. The rest hurt too much. I looked at Eren and let out a sigh. I knew what was coming.

“Levi it’s not your fault,” Eren said grabbing my hand and giving it a light squeeze. Yup there it was. The thing everyone says in this situation.

I just shrugged, “It is, and nothing can convince me it’s not,” I let out a sigh. “Do you know what people say when I tell them it’s my fault? They say you couldn’t have known it’s not like you’re a mind reader. Eren, I am a mind reader, I should have known I should have listened.” I took a deep breath.

We stopped at the door and I took a breath before we walked inside. “As for the other deaths I’m responsible for,” I felt my words start to stick in my throat, “that’s for another time.” I took a deep breath and walked into class with Eren trailing behind me. I could feel his worry and sadness. It hurt to know that I’m the cause of it this time, but I wasn’t going to sugar coat it. It was my fault and I knew it there is no convincing me otherwise.

We sat down and Hanji and Erwin took roll again to make sure everyone was back in class. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the torture. I pulled out my headphones and both Hanji and Erwin gave me a worried look but they continued on as normal.

I took a deep breath and took on everyone's thoughts. My head felt like exploding. I took a few deep breaths and opened my eyes. Eren had a worried look but I just gave him a nod to tell him I’m okay.

“So this section we will be taking a more personal direction with this.” Erwin started.

“We are going to share our personal power triggers,” Hanji said and I felt a surge of concern run through me. Is that really okay? Why are they doing that? I know Hanji and Erwin have always been open with their emotions and what happened, but they’ve never told their power triggers in such an open space. Hell, I’ve never even heard their power triggers before.

“Now the reason we are doing this is because after the break we will have time for everyone to share if they want to. You aren’t required, but since this is a very personal topic to everyone here sometimes sharing helps people know they aren’t alone and it helps people through it. So we are going to share ours and if you want to share yours then that is perfectly okay. If you don’t want to share then that is okay too.” Hanji explained.

The room was dead silent I’m sure no one was expecting this I sure wasn’t. Hanji looked to Erwin. I think she was planning on starting but Erwin put a hand on her back whispered something in her ear before addressing us. “I’ll be sharing mine first.” He stated. Now I’m sure Hanji was going to go first, but I think she froze up, hell I would too.

“Well, um, So,” Erwin took a deep breath as he rubbed the back of his neck. “As you guys know I have multiple powers which means there were multiple power triggers in my life,” He took a deep breath and then continued.

“My father was a very cruel and abusive man who at first I just thought was hard on me because he wanted the best for me. However, as the years went on I learned that wasn’t the case. I was expected to do everything perfectly and instantaneously. He expected things done before he even asked. I found out the reason he was putting me through such stress and such traumatic experiences was to force a power trigger, and it worked.”

“Eventually my first power manifested to help with the workload. I found out because after my first power came forward. I thought things would be so much easier. I was able to teleport and do things quicker. My dad had found out that my power manifested, which is what he wanted to happen right? Wrong, my power was different from what he wanted. He called me a freak started to beat me.” Erwin took a deep breath and cleared his throat.

“It caused my second power to trigger. The power to create portals. I managed to throw my hands up to block myself and when he went to hit me his hand went through a portal and he ended up knocking himself out with that punch.” I grabbed a few things and left but not without some parting words from my father to never come back.”

Hanji had placed a hand on Erwin’s back. He looked unfazed by what he was saying but his emotions were clearly getting to him. “I was on my own in the street. I had nowhere to go and managed to survive on my own for a little while. That was until winter rolled around. One night I was out in the cold and I knew this was how I’d die. I collapsed and fell unconscious in the snow. I didn’t know where I was or where to go. Sure I thought I was a goner.”

“When I opened my eyes I was standing above my own body it was blue and shivering. I wasn’t dead, but I wasn’t in my own body. I followed a sound I heard leaving my body there on the floor and I ended up finding shelter a little ways ahead. At that moment I snapped back to my body and found the strength to teleport myself to the shelter.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “That was my third power trigger and the power that manifested was astral projection.”

He took another breath before saying something that made everyone's jaws drop, “I was 10.” He looked around the room at all the mortified faces looking back at him mine included. I never knew.

“Now I know that probably sounds horrible,” he said giving an awkward smile that I could tell was only on his face to try to lighten the mood, “however, those experiences made me who I am today and they brought me here in front of all of you. So despite those experiences being horrible great things came from them in the end. I know you guys might be thinking that horrible things are just that, but sometimes bad things happen. When those bad things happen you have to take a breath and move on.”

He took a deep breath and I could see him becoming more relaxed as he spoke. “When things knock you down you have to pick yourself up and keep going because if you just lay there and dwell on the past and the bad stuff you will never go anywhere. Now, I’m not saying that the pain will go away at the snap of a finger hell some pain will never go away, but it definitely will get better as time goes on. You control your own lives. No one can put a stop to the pain you feel if you don’t want them too. Sure, people can help you get back on your feet, but you are the one who has to reach out before that can happen.”

“That is why we are here today. We know some of you are still laying there on that floor some of you may be waiting for someone to help you up, some of you might have already accepted that you will never get up, but that is why we are here today. We are here to help you off of the ground and get back on your feet.”

The room fell silent again. Most people around the room had their heads down and there were a few people who we could tell were tearing up. Erwin backed up and let Hanji start talking. Before she started she grabbed some tissues and handed them to everyone in case they needed them. A few kids used them but most just held them for later.

I heard a thought come through as Hanji was passing out tissues. Someone's thoughts had said killed myself, so I quickly listened in.

I almost killed myself several times growing up. I heard the thought finish and the voice rang a bell. Marco? I continued to listen to see if he would think anything else about it cause he never seemed like the type to have those kinds of thoughts.

I mean until Erwin said that he thought this was how he was going to die I guess I never noticed that I felt that way a few times growing up. I mean hell when I fell in that pool and couldn’t breathe I thought I was a goner especially when I blacked out, but then when I woke back up from blacking out I thought it must have been a dream right? No, I was still at the bottom of the pool but suddenly I was breathing fine. I still couldn’t figure out how to swim to the top and that's when the water parted by my wishes and I walked out unharmed. My parents found me moments later dripping wet. I love my parents but I still don’t know why they thought leaving a 5 year old unsupervised in the backyard for even a minute was okay. I really could have died.

Even when I was 7, I thought for sure this is how I die. I felt my feet slip out from under me I was face to face with the massive bonfire and all I could think was that I was going to burn alive. All I remember before slamming my eyes shut was my mothers scream. When I fell I fell on a cold hard substance rather than the fire. That’s when I opened my eyes and saw the fire had frozen solid. Well, it wasn’t really fire anymore it was ice where the fire used to be and I noticed my body temperature had dropped drastically.

Thinking back now it really is a miracle that I didn’t end up killing myself as a child I swear I was the most danger prone kid there was. With that I let his thoughts drift off. He didn’t mean kill himself in the way I thought but just his memory of the first incident is haunting. What he felt what he saw what he remembers thinking that whole memory nearly had me choking for air. I never knew that’s how he got his powers and honestly, I wish I still didn’t.

Hanji was still passing out some tissues when I heard another thought pop through. I heard the word suicide and followed the thought.

I remember seeing the knife and thinking this is how I die there is no point in fighting back. I watched as they murdered my parents and I knew I was next. I don’t know why they didn’t kill me then and there, well I can imagine why but I'd rather not. I don’t think I really want to imagine what those sick bastards were going to do too little 8-year-old me. All I remember was thinking this was suicide. I mean that's what I thought it would be a suicide mission. But there was no other way. I remember getting the courage to stand up. I knew the door was locked but if I could just find a way out I could make a run for it.

I knew I would die regardless. Whether it was in that room or while escaping. After searching the whole room I couldn’t find anything to break the lock or try and pick it like in a tv show. I remember just being so frustrated and punching the door. Little did I know that my strength would manifest then and there. I remember seeing the door fly off the hinges so hard the wall broke.

I remember running as fast as I could and at the time I thought it was the adrenaline, but that’s when I got my other power which is super stamina. I heard them running after me and I knew if I stopped I would die so I kept running. When I heard the gunshots I assumed I was dead, especially since I felt them hit me a few times. I never stopped running. When I made it out of that forest I remember running into the road and nearly getting hit by a car. I was so lucky that it was a cop car or who knows what might have happened to me.

I remember looking at my clothes and seeing it full of bullet holes and then looking at where it correlates with my skin and not even seeing a scratch. I was indestructible.

That was the worst time of my life and just as Erwin said I was prepared to lay there and dwell in my misery and pain, but then I remember two boys with bright smiles there helping me to my feet. My friends, my family they pulled me out of that hole that I had buried myself in. It’s because of them that I am here today holding my head high making sure no one ever feels left out making sure everyone feels like they can reach out and grab my hand at any time to help them out of that same hole.

I let Mikasa’s thoughts fade back out into white noise and I felt my eyes sting with tears. I never knew. I mean I know some of us have some pretty fucked up lives but I could never imagine someone having to endure all of that and sitting there with a kind smile on her face and such a bright light still twinkling in her eyes.

“Alright class,” Hanji started and I took a moment to blink a few times to try and push back my tears. “Just as Erwin I too have multiple powers which means multiple power triggers.” She took a deep breath before plopping down on the floor and sitting with her legs crisscrossed.

“So let’s go through them shall we?” She asked. I could tell her little upbeat attitude wasn’t her normal one. Sure it sounded like it, but as someone whose been around her a lot I can tell that she’s forcing it a little. She is purposely trying not to focus on what she’s saying by making herself and what she’s saying a little more upbeat.

“Well, I guess we can start at the beginning since that’s always a good place to start.” She smiled and cleared her throat. “Well, While I was growing up my parents were never really around. They pretty much left me alone to deal with everything. I was having a really bad time for a while and I was at the final straw and was severely depressed. I was having very bad thoughts and before I could act on any of them My rat spoke to me.” She laughed, “now I know what you’re thinking Hanji officially lost it because believe me I thought that too. I was sitting there thinking I finally lost my mind. I remember googling “why is my rat talking to me,” and I was expecting the first link to be an ad for an insane asylum, but it was about the power that had just manifested within me.

It was weird at first but I got used to it really quickly and my parents not being around started bugging me less since I actually had someone to talk to. He was my best friend and the only one I could ever really talk too. Which I know for some of you probably does sound odd and that my best friend was a rat named Mr. snuggles.” At that, there was laughter around the room.

“Yes his name was Mr. Snuggles,” Hanji said before laughing, “look I’m not the best with names okay,” She said before clearing her throat. “Well, anyway I was 8 when that happened. Not long after the cops and Cps came knocking on my door. They took me with them and I never really found out what happened to my parents until a few years later. Apparently they were like big drug dealers and well that doesn’t really matter,” she shrugged before getting back on track.

“So from there, I was put into the foster system. The first house I was at was pretty much the same as the one I was living in before. I was living in the attic in a spare room and was told that I couldn’t bug the woman I was living with unless it was an emergency. The only problem was that she didn’t know I had brought Mr. Snuggles with me since I was told I wasn’t allowed to keep him, however, I wasn’t about to give up my best friend. I smuggled him in under my jacket. I was at this house for about a week and was getting a little more comfortable. I guess I had gotten careless and I was talking too loudly.

She came up the stairs to figure out who I was talking too when she saw a rat on the floor. She kicked Mr. Snuggles so hard that he hit the wall with a loud thud. Now me being 9 this was pretty traumatizing. She ran back down the stairs and told me to get rid of the pest's body. I remember hearing him gasping for air and I could tell he was dying.

I picked him up and held him close because I didn’t want him dying alone. My best friend, the only one in the world who had ever truly made me feel safe was dying in my arms. That is what triggered my next power to come forward. One minute he was on the brink of death the next he was perfectly fine.

I had healed him. I didn’t know how and I didn’t question why but I was a lot more careful with him in the house. I never spoke above a whisper and I never let him out of my sight. When I switched to my next house I didn’t have Mr. snuggles with me to help me. He passed away from natural causes.” She took a deep breath and continued.

“The next house I went too was the last house I ever went to in the foster system. I knew the second I walked in the door that something was wrong. This time I was staying with a man. Nothing wrong with that, but what was wrong was that he would never look me in the eyes or at my face at all. He was only looking at my chest and my butt. Even at the age of 10, I knew what he was thinking and that I was in danger.

That night after I had said I was going to bed I grabbed my bag I never even bothered unpacking. I set up the pillows under the blanket and I tried to sneak out of the house. I made it halfway down the hallway before I saw the light in the front room shut off and heard him head towards the hallway. I hid in the bathroom behind the still opened door. I remember thinking that my breathing was going to give me away that I was breathing too loud.

He walked past me and into the bedroom. I will never forget what I heard that creep say. He told me “how about we have some fun, just me and you, I’ll show you a new game.” I heard the door close behind him and I wasted no time walking down the hallway. Once the front door was in sight I ran for it and didn’t stop running until I couldn’t anymore.

I found myself in a park. I didn’t really want to be found so I laid down in some bushes. I remember thinking that despite all my efforts to leave that hell hole that I would die out there. It was a really cold night and I remember looking at my hands and seeing them a bluish color. I don’t remember falling asleep that night but when I woke up the next day I was surrounded in a cocoon-like thing of plants. I realized that I had caused it and that my last power came forward.”

She stood up and stretched her legs. “Well, that was my story.”

“Do any of you guys have any questions for Hanji or me? We don’t mind answering them.” Erwin said walking up and standing next to Hanji.

For a moment the room was still and then Ymir Raised her hand. “So you both lived on the street for a while? How did you end up here?” She asked.

“Well,” Erwin started, “for a few years, it was hard until the principal found me. It wasn’t Pixis, but the principal before him. He offered me a place at the school and then before retiring he offered me a job here. I think Pixis has also picked up a few people off the street and brought them to the school.” Erwin said before looking to Hanji.

“Well for me, I ended up running into a friend from my childhood after about a year of living on the street. He found out I was living on the street and dragged me back to his house and asked his mom if it was okay I stayed there. She immediately accepted me into her home.” Hanji said with a big smile. “You know who that little boy was?” She asked us and we all looked back at her waiting for her to tell us. “It was molbit.”

That was the only question asked since time had run out they dismissed the class and I pulled out my headphones as fast as possible. I felt myself start to blackout a few times already but I tried my best to hold it off.


	35. Lunch Shenanigans

I was only halfway through the day and I was already feeling like it was impossible to continue. However, it was now lunchtime. I had an hour to gather myself and figure out how I was going to continue with the rest of the day without blacking out.

Normally lunch was spent with just Hanji, Erwin, Eren, and Myself. However, Sasha walked up to me and asked to join them at a table. I didn’t want to be rude, especially since they were all trying to be my friend and I genuinely wanted to be friends with them however this is all just too overwhelming for me today.

“I think We were just planning on eating in here,” Eren said giving her a smile.

“Awe are you sure?” She said looking to both of us.

“Yeah, today as just been really overwhelming, but maybe tomorrow,” I added and she gave me a smile.

“Oh I understand,” she said happily, “I’ll hold you to that tomorrow,” she joked before leaning in and whispering, “if you ever need to talk I’m here,” she said before giving me a friendly pat on the back.

“We will be in the lunchroom if you change your mind,” Connie said happily following her.

Armin and Mikasa looked at us and Eren gave them a nod and they nodded back before following Connie and Sasha. “Hey wait for us,” Armin said after them.

“What was that nod about?” I asked Eren.

“Oh they were trying to see if you were okay or not,” he shrugged.

I felt a smile appear on my face. “That’s nice of them,” I mumbled.

“Well, do you mind if we join you guys or do you want a little alone time to decompress from that lesson,” Marco asked us.

Well, two people are a lot less than six people. “I don’t mind,” I said before looking to Eren.

“It’s fine with me,” he smiled. We sat back in the chairs and pulled out the lunches we packed. I guess the four of us had the same idea. Since none of us had to go to the cafeteria to get lunch rather we had all just decided to pack on today.

I looked up at Hanji and Erwin and excused myself for a minute so I could talk to them and see if they were okay since they just shared some traumatic stuff. They were both sitting up against the wall eating their lunches, but the were both very quiet today.

“Hey,” I said before sitting down in front of them, “Are you okay?”

Hanji and Erwin both looked at each other before looking back at me. “Yeah, we’re okay,” Hanji answered giving me a smile.

“How about you how are you holding up?” Erwin asked and I didn’t know if he was doing it to change the subject or if he just wanted to know.

“I’m okay, just a major headache,” I shrugged, “it doesn’t help that today of all days is the day everyone decides to talk to me.”

“Yeah, I see that,” Hanji laughed, “you were surrounded by quite the group for a little bit there.”

I just let out a sigh, “don’t get me wrong I like that everyone wants to be my friend now, but at the same time, I don’t know what to do. I’ve never been a friendly kinda person.”

“Bullshit,” Hanji rolled her eyes, “you are very friendly but in your own way. I mean hell you came over here to ask us if we were okay, that’s pretty damn friendly if you ask me.”

“Yeah,” Erwin continued, “you’re a very caring person and people can see that, even if you try to hide it sometimes. You might not know how to be their friend yet, but you will learn what they like, what they dislike and so on. That’s how friendships grow.”

“I know, but I don’t exactly have the best of filters so I’m just afraid I might slip up.”

“So what if you do?” Hanji shrugged, “don’t try and hold yourself back for the sake of others. They want to be your friend, they don’t want you to pretend to be something your not.”

“Well, I’m technically already doing that aren’t I?” I sighed.

“What do you mean? Erwin asked.

I pulled my knees up to my chest and took a deep breath, “well, I’m lying about my power aren’t I?”

“Well, I mean you’re not lying you’ve just never told them what it is?” Hanji shrugged, “I mean unless you’ve lied to them in the last 10 minutes?”

“No I haven’t straight out verbally lied to them, but I haven’t exactly told them the truth.”

“Well has anyone asked what your power is?” Erwin asked.

“Well, no.”

“See,” Hanji said, “you’re not lying because they haven’t even asked.”

“Besides,” Erwin cut in, “in the few years you’ve been in our classes you’ve never once shared your powers in a share-out session. That’s the sort of thing people notice.”

“Your point?”

“People probably know you don’t want to talk about your powers, they probably think you either hate them or are embarrassed by them-”

“Well they wouldn’t be wrong,” I mumbled.

“Meaning that they might not even ask you about them,” he finished.

“Yeah, and also, some people might already think they know what your powers are,” Hanji said cutting in. “I mean you don’t exactly hide you telekinesis so they probably just assume that's your only power,” she shrugged.

“You’ve got a point there,” Erwin said with a nod.

“So what, this still feels like I’m lying to them.

“If they are your friends then when they do finally find out about your powers then they shouldn’t care.”

“We all know that’s not always the case,” I let out a little sigh.

“Hey that shouldn’t even count, first off that was years ago, secondly we all know Neil is a prick,” Hanji rolled her eyes.

“He got fired for a reason,” Erwin shrugged.

He was one of the first teachers I had here back in the high school classes. I was 14 and he was the first teacher I thought I could confide in. I told him about my powers and he immediately got angry at me. He told me he didn’t want me in his class. He called me a freak and I believed him. He was my first class of the day and I didn’t know what to do so I just skipped class in the bathrooms.

About a month into school I got caught. A teacher saw me walk in the bathroom before class and never come out. They took me to the nurse's office because they thought I was sick and that's actually how I met Hanji. She was only 18 at the time and it was her first year working as the school nurse.

She asked what was wrong and I told her I felt sick. She knew I was lying the second she put her hand on my forehead. I remember she told me, “you don’t feel sick.” The look on her face told me enough, she knew I was full of shit. I remember her asking me if it was something else that was bothering me.

Now I don’t remember why but I actually came clean and told her everything. How I had been skipping class for over a month and why. I just remember her getting really scarily quiet before standing up. She took my hand and marched me to the principal's office. I remember thinking I’m in trouble I’m going to get expelled, but when we got to the principal's office she threw open the door sat me down in the chair and told me to tell him what I told her.

When I did I expected to get kicked out immediately however that wasn’t the case. I remember Pixis having the same scarily calm tone as he mumbled, “Is that so?” He stood up without another word picked up the phone and called in Neil.

After he hung up the phone he walked over to where I was sitting and kneeled down on the floor to be at eye level with me. “I’m so sorry that this happened to you, all of our staff know better than to act this way and he will be dealt with accordingly.”

After that Hanji took me back to the nurse's office and I stayed there the rest of class. “I’m sorry, but that really pissed me off,” she sighed, “I’m sorry you had to go through that but I can guarantee you won’t have to skip the next class because of him that’s for sure.”

She was right I walked into class the next day and there was a new teacher teaching his class. Apparently he was fired on the spot. I wasn’t the only student who had complaints against him either.

“Still, he wasn’t the only one to say that to me about my power,” I said snapping back to reality.

“Who else said something to you? Do I need to kick their asses?” Hanji asked getting really protective.

“No, it was before I came to this school, and honestly I deserved everything they had to say about me.”

Before they could say another word I switched the topic, “anyway if you guys are sure you’re okay then I should head back to the others.”

I could tell Hanji wanted to know more about what I was talking about, hell they both did but I couldn’t bring myself to talk about it. I think she knew that when I made an excuse to leave. She didn’t push me to say more. “Okay,” she said quietly, “We’re here if you need to talk.”

I nodded and walked back over to Eren and the others. When I came back Jean’s eyes shot over to me really quickly with a look of shock. I just lifted my hands in surrender, “what did I do?”

“You two are dating?” He asked loudly before getting hushed by Marco.

I took a deep breath, “so much for not telling anyone,” I mumbled.

“Hey it wasn’t me,” Marco said before glancing to Eren. “Someone let it slip.”

I turned to Eren who was looking at the ground with red cheeks. “My bad,” He mumbled, “I mean I didn’t say anything Jean just kinda figured it out.”

“Well how am I not going to figure it out when you are staring at him with googly eyes and checking out his ass,” Jean rolled his eyes.

“You were checking out my ass?” I asked looking to Eren who was suddenly really quiet.

“Wait a damn second,” Jean said before turning to Marco, “you knew?”

Eren looked to Marco and then back to me, “wait you told Marco?”

“No, he guessed,” I shrugged.

“Oh, were you checking me out earlier too?” Eren asked in a teasing voice.

“No,” I said back flatly.

“No, he just had a really cheesy smile when he said your name.” I turned to Marco and glared at him for a moment before my cheeks heated up.

“Awe,” Eren said so happily. I just sat back down in my chair with a defeated look.

“Anyway, Jean, don’t tell anyone,” I mumbled.

“I won’t,” Jean said before leaning in, “Marco and I are also dating,” he whispered like it was some secret.

“Yeah I know,” I said back and Jean turned to Marco.

“You told him?” Jean asked and before he or Marco could answer I spoke up.

“I’ve known for years,” I shrugged, “I mean you two are pretty obvious about it.”

“We are not,” Jean said quickly.”

“Marco would sneak out every night and at the same time he’d sneak out he’d bump into you in the hallway. Also, you two would both magically disappear at lunch and come back to class late and together,” I shrugged. “Do I need to say more?” Is said giving just a few examples.

Jean just put his head down I could feel the embarrassment radiating off of him.

“You were awake when I’d sneak out? Why didn’t you ever say anything?” Marco asked looking to me.

“It wasn’t my place,” I shrugged.

Marco’s face got red too. He just took a breath and looked at Jean before shrugging “I wonder how many other people know?”

“Pretty much everyone, including the teachers, well everyone except Armin he’s pretty oblivious,” I shrugged. My eyes went wide before realizing I said that out loud. I only knew everyone knew because of Eld’s class. I have my headphones off and everyone's minds tend to wander, especially when it comes to drama.

“Wait really?” Jean asked embarrassed.

I just stayed quiet hoping they wouldn’t ask but of course Marco did. “How do you know?”

Now I’m suddenly stuck between telling them about my power or lying. “Well, I’ve heard some people talk about it, but not in a bad way or anything.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. I have heard Erwin, Hanji, and Eren verbally say stuff about them dating and all the times people have thought about them dating it has never been in a bad way most people actually think they would be good together. However, it didn’t answer how I knew Armin knew nothing but I was hoping they looked over that part.

“Oh, really?” Marco asked before giving me a smile, “well I’m glad no ones homophobic.”

“Yeah, that’s a relief.” Jean let out a sigh. I took a calming breath since they totally passed over the holes in my explanation. I can’t lie to them forever and honestly, I don’t want to.


	36. Share Outs

Lunch ended and everyone slowly came back into the gym. We all sat down and Hanji greeted us. “Hello class,” she said before making sure everyone was present. “So, just as we said before this section of the class will be dedicated to you guys and if anyone wants to share.”

I took a deep breath and pulled out my headphones before focusing my thoughts. My head already felt like it was going to explode. The process was getting easier while the headache was worsening. I don’t know if I’ll be able to make this another 3 hours.

“If people do decide to share I expect you all to act mature and be respectful,” Erwin added.

“That being said does anyone feel comfortable in sharing?” Hanji asked looking around the room.

Everyone stayed quiet for a moment before Sasha raised her hand.

“Okay, Sasha go ahead,” Hanji called on her before taking a seat.

“Should I stand up or?” She asked.

“Whatever you’re comfortable with,” Hanji smiled. Sasha nodded. She stood up and walked to the center of the circle.

She’s got guts, no way I’d be able to share let alone in the dead center of the circle with everyone's eyes on me.

“Alright, well, growing up my parents expected a lot from me. I was constantly under stress to be the perfect little girl. I was supposed to remain quiet unless spoken too. I was expected to take care of all the chores even the stuff I couldn’t quite do. I was often forgotten places and left to find my own way home.”

She let out a sigh and took a deep breath, “well one day I got sick of it,” she took another deep breath, “and well, I had planned to do something stupid. I really didn’t want to go through with this stupid idea however I was pushed to believe it was the only way the stress would end. I was wrong of course, but at the time it seemed like the only logical option.”

She took a quick pause. I could tell despite her having a smile on her face she was fighting back tears. “I had grabbed all the pills inside the cabinet, and right as I was about to take them all someone grabbed my arm. It was me, but a different me. My power had manifested due to the stress that was on my mind. I knew I didn’t want to die and it turned into me saving myself. That was on my 12th birthday, and I can proudly say things get better and I am glad that my power manifested when it did.” She let out a big smile and let a tear roll down her cheek before walking back to her seat.

“Thank you for sharing,” Erwin said before standing up and handing her some tissues just in case she needed any.

“Does anyone else want to share?” Hanji asked as Erwin sat back down.

Connie's hand shot up as he looked at Sasha. He gave her a smile and stood up. Hanji gave him a nod and she walked to the center of the circle too.

“Well, I can say mine won’t be as sad as other people’s, but I thought I’d share it nonetheless in case you guys needed a good laugh and yes it is okay to laugh at it, I still do,” Connie said his tone was more upbeat than anyone else in the room. I focused on his thoughts for a moment to see exactly what he was thinking since he walked up and said that.

If my story can bring a smile to their faces and brighten their moods at least a little then it’s worth telling. Besides, it might also show that not all power triggers are a bad thing like sure they can be bad if you let them be but some are just accidental or unforeseen events.

With that I let his thoughts drift back out to the background. I see so he’s just trying to help people in his own way.

“Well, my mother had gotten very sick, which is sad I won’t lie that’s as sad as this story gets though.” He took a breath to get back on track “I often had to do a lot of the chores and errands since my mom couldn’t do them. I had to take care of her help out however I could with money which was hard since I was only 13 and not many places would take me. I eventually found a few oddball jobs here and there.”

He let out a little laugh, “Getting from place to place was a nightmare since I couldn’t exactly drive. So I ran everywhere. Often pushing myself past my own limits to the point I would almost blackout. Well one day I nearly did blackout I closed my eyes about as much as it took to blink and I rammed straight into the doors of the place I was heading too. I hit them hard enough to break them off their hinges and gave myself a concussion.” He said laughing a little and a few other people laughed too.

“I’m just glad the building manager was cool about the doors he was just glad I didn’t die on impact, but yeah that’s my story,” Connie said with a little shrug before walking back to his seat.

“Thank you for sharing,” Hanji said with a smile, “would anyone else like to share?” The room was quiet and I thought everyone was done when Berthold raised his hand. Hanji gave him a nod. He just stood up at his seat rather than going to the center like the last two.

“Well, it was clear since the time I was born I was a disappointment in my mother’s eyes. My mom wanted a girl and when she had me well, I kinda screwed up her plans. She was planning on forcing her daughter to do everything she wanted her to do. She wanted a beautiful ballerina. She took every second of my childhood telling me how much of a screw up I was.” He let out a sigh before continuing.

“All I wanted was to make her happy. She wanted a ballerina I took gymnastics since it was the closest thing I could think of that wasn’t ballet. I actually enjoyed doing gymnastics however, nothing I did was ever enough. I was always bending over backward to please her. I would train harder push myself to do more since she would talk about how messed up my form was no matter how perfect it was.” he took a deep breath and stared down at the ground.

“I pushed myself past my limits and fell on my face… well, actually my neck to be exact. Where I landed I felt my spine crack and there was a rush of pain before nothing. I thought this is it, this is how it ends. I was only 11 but I swore my whole life had just ended with that break. I swore I was paralyzed until I opened my eyes and saw I could move perfectly normal. I didn’t know what had happened at first. I knew I had broken something I heard a sickening cracking noise and then nothing there wasn’t even any more pain.”

He rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke. “My teacher had called an ambulance just in case and when I was taken to the hospital I was told that my bones were no longer hard they were made out of a rubber material. There was a crack in my spine and it should have paralyzed me but because my power manifested I am here today walking around.” He awkwardly sat back down and the room was silent.

“Thank you for sharing,” Hanji said before looking around the room.

I felt movement next to me and my eyes widened when I saw Armin’s hand up. Damn, he was brave, this was the same kid who would quite literally disappear every time he was called on.

“Go ahead Armin,” Hanji said and Armin stayed sitting in his chair.

“Um, well,” He started before freezing, “I um, well I was always bullied growing up. I was only 10 but the kids who picked on me were as old as 14. They would wait until I was alone before beating me up. One day they threw me up against the wall and I saw a hand coming straight for my face and I guess I panicked so much that it triggered my powers to come forward. I phased threw the wall right as he threw a punch and he ended up breaking his hand.” Armin said rubbing the back of his neck.

“The next day they were waiting for me and I just took off running. I couldn’t exactly control my phasing yet so when Iran into a dead end I panicked. I just threw my hands up over my face closed my eyes and prepared for the beating. When they rounded the corner I heard them say they had lost me and when I opened my eyes, I realized I couldn’t see my arms despite them being in front of my face.”

Armin looked around the room and saw everyone's eyes on him. I could feel his panic and before I could say anything he fell threw his chair.

“Um sorry,” he mumbled looking around the room, “I still have trouble controlling them when I get nervous.”

I stood up and reached my hand out for him to take. He gave me a little smile and took my hand, “thanks, Levi.” He said before sitting back in his chair.

“Thank you for sharing,” Hanji said giving Armin a smile.

“Anyone else wants to share?” She asked and I thought everyone was done. A minute had gone by and Hanji was about to speak up when a hand popped up.

“Actually I think I should share,” Ymir said with her hand up.

“Okay go ahead,” Hanji said with a nod.

Ymir stood up and made her way to the middle of the circle and plopped down. She was very tense and I could tell she didn’t feel really comfortable with sharing.

“I’m not gonna lie, this is terrifying, but they are telling me that I should share out because it might help someone else and honestly if my story helps someone then I guess it will make it worth it,” Ymir said before starting. Makes sense now it didn’t seem like she wanted to but apparently the dead are telling her to do so.

“Well, my childhood was pretty normal until the event of my power trigger. It was my 13th birthday, we were going on a family vacation to celebrate it. Everything was going great one minute and the next the car is upside down there's blood in my eyes and my ears are ringing. There was so much pain aching throughout my body every movement felt agonizing.” She paused and took a deep calming breath.

I felt myself doing the same. Her story brought back some painful reminders and I was almost concerned about what spirit told her to tell her story. It also reminded me about how she came up to me before class and was going to talk to me before walking away. There was no way, there was no way. Right, they couldn’t… could they? She started talking again and I forced myself to listen on rather than face the questions inside my head.

“Sorry, this is a little hard,” she said taking another breath. Hanji had got up and walked over before sitting behind her with her hand on her shoulder. She gave her a quiet thank you before continuing.

“I remember thinking I was going to die in that car. I heard my parents voices outside the car directing me on how to get out. They kept telling me to keep fighting that I have to get out of there. I heard the sirens pulling up and I saw my mom on the ground next to me she crawled towards me but couldn’t quite get to me she instructed me on what to do. She told me to unhook my seatbelt and carefully crawl out the shattered window.”

Her voice caught in her throat and she took a deep breath, “I remember my arm in so much agony it was broken and I was trying my best to crawl on it. The glass was slicing up my arm and leg as I crawled. I felt my foot was stuck and I managed to get it free but there were a few bones broken in it. I remember getting out of the car and blacking out right as the paramedics were walking up.” She closed her eyes as she tried to take a deep breath.

I could recognize the tone in her voice and the look on her face. She wasn’t just speaking about this event she was reliving it. I had to fight my own mind from reliving the car crash I was in. I took a few deep breaths and felt myself start to panic. I closed my eyes and took a few more deep breaths.

“I woke up on the gurney as they were wheeling me towards the ambulance I remember looking for my parents and I was so relieved they were perfectly fine when I saw them before. I asked them where they were and if I could see them. That's when I saw what had happened. I saw three bodies on the floor covered in white sheets. I started to panic and that's when I saw my parents next to me walking beside me. I could see them clearly and I knew something was wrong since I could see through them a little. I knew what had happened.”

She took a deep breath, “They stayed with me the whole ambulance ride. I remember seeing someone else appear and he told me he was the one who had hit us. He apologized and told me he had a heart attack at the wheel. My parents crossed over after I was safely taken to my aunt's house. The man who hit us hasn’t crossed over yet he told me his unfinished business was to watch me grow and live my life since he feels guilty. He’s been with me ever since like a guardian angel.” She took a breath before seemingly checking back into reality.

“Sorry, that was hard to say,” she said with a shaky voice as she wiped away some tears.

Hanji helped her back to her feet and she walked over to her chair. “Thank you, Ymir for sharing.”

I tuned out what she was saying after that. My head was spinning. I was holding back my own tears my own memories. I was losing control over everyone's thoughts and they broke free from just white noise in the background to full power everything at once. I shot up to my feet as I looked at Eren. I saw fear fall over his face and blacked out before I could even say anything.


	37. Spirits

Hanji and Erwin rushed over to check on Levi who now had a crowd around him probably making things worse. I didn’t know what pocket he put his headphones in and I couldn’t exactly look for them in front of all these people without them getting suspicious. I kneeled down next to him as well as Mikasa and Armin. Jean and Marco were standing over us and I could tell everyone was worried. Everyone had got up from their chair to check on him.

Hanji dismissed the class a whole 10 minutes early for the break. “Everyone please give us some privacy I need to find out what’s wrong.” She said and everyone slowly made their way out of the gym they all looked over their shoulders at him. I stayed where I was and Ymir had also stayed put.

“Eren can you lift his head I need to make sure he didn’t hit his head on the floor,” Hanji said kneeling down to take care of him. I pulled his head up in my lap before checking his pockets for his headphones. I slipped them on him and hoped that it would help.

I knew this would happen. I knew he would overdo it, but I still let him go through with this stupid plan. The look on his face when he blacked out was different this time. He looked so scared, so panicked, so sad. Now that I think about it the whole time Ymir was talking he looked upset. He was fidgeting and he was blinking really fast. Was he trying to hold back tears?

“Ymir can you please give us some space,” Erwin asked. I looked up and sure enough, she was still in the room.

“It’s my fault,” she mumbled quietly and Hanji stopped for a moment and looked up at her.

“My story, it did something to him, right? I was told to tell it. They told me it would help him, but it didn’t help did it? It hurt him,” she took a deep breath, “I'm sorry I’ll leave now I just wanted to make sure he’s okay,” she mumbled.

“Hey it’s not your fault,” I spoke up, “he just gets overwhelmed with a lot of people and he was running on a timer as is,” I tried to explain the situation as best as I could without outright telling her.

“Oh, so it was because he got overwhelmed? Too much mind-reading?” She said and both of the teachers whipped their heads around to look at her. “That's why he always wears the headphones right? He wasn’t wearing them today.”

“How do you know about that?” Hanji asked.

“They told me,” She said pointing behind her before clearing her throat, “I mean some spirits told me,” she said correcting herself. “They told me he’s a mind reader, however, I guess I never put two and two together with the headphones,” she shrugged.

“The teachers really didn’t know what to say, I could tell they were trying to figure out how to go about this and they were just exchanging confused looks.

“You never told anyone?” I asked realizing the teachers would be no help.

“No, it’s not my place to talk about other peoples powers, especially since he’s never mentioned it. I mean even in classes he’s gone to such great lengths to avoid talking about it I just assumed he didn’t want anyone to know.”

“So wait what is up with the headphones do they just help him?”

“Well he can’t really control it all that well,” Hanji shrugged, “sometimes he can focus on one person's thoughts but not if other people are in close proximity to him.”

“The headphones make it so that he can’t hear anyone's thoughts,” Erwin added.

“So he normally doesn’t read people's minds?” Ymir asked.

“He doesn’t like invading people's personal business,” Erwin explained.

“I see, but today he didn’t have his headphones on,” she paused for a moment as she tried to process her thoughts, “so he was worried too. He was reading everyone's minds, right? That’s why he paused out from getting overwhelmed?” She asked and the teachers hesitated to answer.

“Yes,” I said before getting stares from the teachers. “He was afraid that people would get triggered by the topic we were talking about.”

“As I thought,” she laughed, “I was doing the same thing kinda, I was having spirits help me out and watch people's expressions. If they were thinking a negative thought usually it comes with a negative expression.” She sighed, “I heard a lot of spirits notify me about people thinking negative thoughts. Levi was the one they notified me about the most. Which I guess makes sense if he was reading everyone else's negative thoughts. Well, that and also, during my story, he had a lot of negative emotions and I think that was just from my story. I was told to tell my story to help him so I mean,” she shrugged.

“Who said it would help him?” Hanji asked and Ymir looked behind her.

“What are your names?” She asked. She waited for a moment before turning to Hanji and shrugging. “They won’t answer I don’t think they want to make their presence known just yet unless it’s to Levi. They really want to talk to him,” She let out a sigh, “spirits are very stubborn.”

Hanji had finished checking Levi, “he’s okay but he definitely overdid it this time,” Hanji let out a sigh before looking at Levi. “God you’re such a persistent little brat aren’t you,” she said with a sad smile as she brushed some hair out of his face.

“We should take him to my office,” Hanji said before looking to me and Erwin, “he’s not going to be able to keep this up for the next hour and thirty minutes, but then again he won't need too. The last portion of class is a decompression period where we switch up the topics put some music on and make sure everyone gets out of the dark mindset that this class can put you in.” Hanji smiled.

“I can carry him there,” I suggested and Hanji shrugged.

“Only if you’re up to it if not I can have Erwin take him there,” Hanji said and before I could answer I felt Levi move in my lap.

His eyes opened and he sat up really quickly. “Shit,” he said panicked, “what happened?”

“You blacked out,” Hanji said crossing her arms, “I thought you weren’t going to overdo it?” She glared at him.

“Hey I was doing fine but that last story made me drop my guard and everything came crashing down on top of me,” He said bringing his hand up to his head and closing his eyes. “Ouch,” he mumbled.

“Sorry, about that,” Ymir said and Levi’s eyes shot open, “I was told my story could help you, but I guess I ended up putting more stress on you and you lost your concentration.”

“Um hi,” Levi mumbled awkwardly before looking at the teachers with a confused look. His muscles were tense and his jaw clenched I could tell he was trying to figure out if she knew or not

I saved him the pain of guessing. “Yes, she knows,” I said and his eyes whipped around to meet mine.

“How?” He asked.

“I’ve known for a while, the spirits told me,” She said with a shrug, “they also tell me that you two are dating, which I mean I really didn’t need them to tell me to be able to figure that out,” she shrugged.

“Can you tell the spirits to mind their damn business,” Levi said quietly. I could tell he was just embarrassed.

“Sorry, they are really nosy,” She laughed, “anyway, I need to talk to you, but not today, too much, has happened today and they don’t want to add any more stress to you,” She sighed, “I’ll try and find you later to deliver the message.”

“What message?” Levi asked he sounded desperate.

“Not today,” she said with a sad look.

“Can you at least tell me their names?” Levi asked.

“I don’t know their names, and they won’t tell me. They just keep telling me to try this again later,” She let out a sad sigh, “sorry spirits are very stubborn and it’s hard to get information out of them when they don’t want to give it.” She explained.

“Can you tell me what they look like?” Levi said he had forced his way to his feet and walked up to her practically begging for any information.

“No, they left and I didn’t really get a good look. I’m really sorry,” she said.

“Okay,” Levi mumbled, “I’ll be waiting for your message whenever you decide to give it,” he said understandably. He sounded upset, I’ve never heard him sound this sad before.

Ymir just nodded she leaned in and gave him a hug, “I hope my story helped like they said it would. If you need to talk I will always be willing to lend and ear. Also, don’t worry I won’t tell anyone about your powers since It’s obvious you’re trying to keep them a secret.”

“Thank you, can you also not tell anyone we’re dating?” Levi asked and I rolled my eyes.

She just laughed. “Honey, I think they already know, even if they don’t you two make it so obvious,” she shrugged, “but sure I won’t say anything.”


	38. Pushing

After Ymir left I tried to convince Levi to go to the nurse's office to lay down but to no avail. After Hanji and Erwin started pushing him to go and take it easy he made it clear he wasn’t going.

“How about I don’t go to the office, but I keep my headphones in the whole next portion of class? Does that sound like a good enough compromise?” He rolled his eyes. He was clearly annoyed with us, but I think he knew he had pushed himself way too hard. Hell, he had sat back on the floor after Ymir had left since he got light-headed again from just standing up.

“That was a given, if you even try and touch those headphones I will break your hand,” Hanji threatened in the most serious voice I have ever heard her use.

“How about you don’t go to the nurse's office, but instead you go back to your dorm?” Erwin suggested.

“No, I want to finish the class. I have too, even if I can’t read people's minds I can still feel their emotions,” he sounded desperate at this point trying to convince them to let him stay.

“So you can overwork yourself in a different way?” Hanji rolled her eyes, “No, you’re going to hurt yourself.”

“But I’m worried about them,” Levi said quietly.

“Worried about them? I hate to break it to you Levi but everyone is worried about you. You should have seen their faces your friends were horrified when you collapsed even more so when we kicked them out of the gym.”

Hanji wasn’t wrong Armin and Mikasa looked scared, Jean and Marco looked mortified and everyone else was panicking when they saw him go down. I swear I even saw Reiner get worried. 

“They were?” Levi’s voice cracked for a split second. I looked at him and saw nothing no trace of sadness, but I could feel it. Ever since Ymir shared her story, and it only worsened after she told him she had a message for him. “It doesn’t matter. I’m fine now and besides don’t you think that if they were worried about me then seeing me missing in the next class would only worry them more?”

“I think it would worry them that you just passed out and are back in class so soon,” Hanji folded her arms glaring at Levi seeing right through his argument. “Besides we could tell them that you are just resting and will be fine,” she rolled her eyes before turning them to me. “Could you please talk some sense into your boyfriend.”

I looked at her and then to Levi who I know wanted me to side with him. I just raised my hands in defeat, “don’t make me choose a side,” I said quickly.

“Hey, both of you knock it off, don’t bring Eren into your arguments,” Erwin rolled his eyes. At least someone had my back.

Levi just let out a frustrated sigh, “Please Hanji, look I know you’re just worried about me, but I promise you that after class I will go straight to my dorm and take it easy.”

Hanji let out a long equally as frustrated sigh, “fine, but if I see even the slightest hint that you’re pushing yourself during this next portion then I will kick your ass out of class so fast,” she groaned, “that means no using your powers,” she clarified.

“What? You know I can’t control some of them.”

“What I mean is focus on Eren’s emotions, not the whole damn class genius,” she rolled her eyes again.

“That is okay with you right Eren?” Erwin asked and I gave him a nod.

“Yeah I don’t mind, especially if it helps Levi,” I said putting my hand on Levi’s. Despite him being annoyed with the whole situation he leaned his head up against my shoulder.

“Eren if you notice him doing something stupid I give you permission to smack him upside the head,” she said before sitting down in a chair and slouching back from the exhaustion of everything that just happened.

“Um, I’m not going to hit Levi, sorry,” I said awkwardly.

“Thanks,” Levi mumbled giving me a little smile.

“I said I wouldn’t hit you but if you're doing something stupid I will call you out,” I whispered back. “You scared the hell out of me earlier,” I said before wrapping my arms around him and pulling him into my lap.

I felt as his emotions went from shocked to calm. I hugged him close and I think it finally got through to him that I was really worried about him and that he really did scare the shit out of me.

“I’m sorry,” he said turning so he could wrap his arms around me. “I never meant to make you worry.”

I just held him there until I knew I couldn’t anymore. I heard the door started to open and he backed up. We both looked at the door and saw it was just Jean and Marco.

“You guys jumped sky high,” Jean said laughing for a quick second before they made their way over to us. “You okay?” He asked Levi as he got closer.

“Yeah, everyone is really worried about you?” Marco said and I watched as Levi rubbed at the back of his neck.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I was just really overwhelmed and I don’t know Ymir’s story got to me and-” he cut himself off with a look of panic before regaining his composure. “I’m okay now,” he said quickly.

Jean and Marco looked at Levi before looking at each other. “Hey man if you ever need to talk we’re here for you,” Jean said a little awkwardly. I could tell he meant well, but he’s not very good with emotions.

“Thank you, but I’m okay really,” Levi said before looking to me. It was only for a split second, but it was the first time I’ve ever seen Levi’s eyes look this sad. They quickly went back to normal. At that moment I knew he wasn’t going to be focusing on anyone’s emotions except his own and maybe mine if he needed to focus on another person’s. He was using all his strength to hold back his sadness to the point it might even be considered pushing himself.

I knew I should tell Hanji, but at the same time, I didn’t want to overstep my boundaries with Levi’s emotions. “Levi, can we talk, alone?” I heard myself say before I could stop myself.

“Um, sure,” he said, raising an eyebrow. I stood up before helping him off the floor.

We walked to the side of the gym. “What’s up?” he asked and I could tell he was just as nervous as I was, maybe it was because I was nervous and it was causing him to be nervous.

“Are you okay?” I asked before realizing he was probably just going to brush it off, “I mean, I know you say you are, but it doesn’t seem like you really are okay.” He just stared at me for a moment probably thinking about what to say. His expression was blank, but I could feel panic rising inside myself. I knew it wasn’t mine. “Look you don’t have to tell me what’s wrong, but I know something is wrong and I’ll help however I can or however you want me to, but you can’t keep pushing your emotions down. You’re pushing yourself too hard.” I said grabbing his hands.

“Can we not talk about this now?” He asked his voice shaking a little. I felt some tears slip from my eyes as he started to lose control of the emotions he was suppressing. His face still looked blank, but I knew it was all a mask.

“As long as you can promise me that you suppressing these emotions during this class isn’t going to push you past your limit,” I said, giving his hand a little squeeze.

“It won’t,” He said with determination in his eyes. “I promise,” he took a breath before looking me in the eyes, “and I promise we will talk about this later when we are alone.”

“Thank you,” I said and I felt as the tears stopped. I no longer felt his sadness. He must have gotten his emotions back under his control. I leaned in and placed a quick kiss on his lips before we headed back to the chairs. It was almost time for the break to be over. More and more people would be coming back in.

As we sat back in the chairs Marco and Jean looked over at us. “Eren are you okay?” Marco asked with a worried voice.

“Yeah, I’m fine why?” I asked. I was a little confused but it made sense when Jean spoke up.

“Dude are you sure it looks like you’ve been crying,” he said and I mentally panicked.

I had to quickly come up with an excuse for why I was crying. I can't exactly say oh they aren’t my tears without them thinking I’m crazy or throwing Levi under the bus. “Well, I was telling Levi how worried I was when I saw him pass out and I got a little emotional,” I said quickly with a shrug. “I’m fine.”

Levi gave my hand a light squeeze as a thank you for covering for him once again. It seemed to fool Jean and Marco, but Hanji and Erwin seemed less convinced. They both looked toward Levi. Hanji raising an eyebrow before giving him a concerned look. Erwin just looked worried. They didn’t say anything, probably because they couldn’t with Jean and Marco here.

The door opened and more students started coming in as the break came to an end. Everyone came over to check on Levi, and I mean everyone. It was nice to see Levi awkwardly tell everyone he was okay. He had a smile on his face and I could tell he was genuinely surprised that other people actually did care for him. It made me both happy and a little sad. He was finally realizing that people cared about him, but at the same time, that must mean someone must have made him feel like he wasn’t worth caring about.

Hanji greeted the class and had everyone take their seats before explaining that this last portion of class we were all going to take it easy.

“We want to leave you guys on a happy note so we brought music and snacks. We will be answering any questions you may have on the topic, but other than that this last part of the class is just a free period,” she explained.


	39. Breaking Point

This free period went by so slow. Normally I’d be thrilled to have this free time in class to hang out however, I couldn’t pull my eyes off Levi. I just kept worrying that at any moment he’d collapse again. When Hanji finally dismissed the class I swear hours had gone by. I could tell I wasn’t the only one who thought this. Levi looked relieved for the class to be over too. No one else really seemed phased by it except Ymir who I noticed was also keeping an eye on Levi.

Erwin asked us to stay back just as we were getting up and I just sat back down in my seat. Levi looked especially annoyed by this request. I, on the other hand, didn’t mind I was just glad that class was over.

“Are you okay?” Hanji asked squatting down in front of Levi as she looked in his eyes and put her hand on his forehead.

“I’m fine Hanji can I please leave?” Levi rolled his eyes.

Hanji turned to Erwin with a concerned face, “he’s being polite something is definitely wrong,” she said before turning back to Levi.

“I’m fine can you fuck off?” Levi said crossing his arms and giving her a glare.

“Nah that was too forced,” Hanji said shaking her head. “Before class, you were really sad-” Levi cut her off.

“I was not,” he said quickly, “what makes you think that?”

“You made Eren cry, and he’s terrible at lying,” Hanji said before looking to me, “no offense.”

“None taken,” ouch, some taken but whatever.

“Look I’m fine, I don’t want to talk about it,” he said, raising his voice a little. He sounded desperate it almost felt like he was begging her to stop.

“Levi is this about-” Erwin stepped in this time.

“Hanji he said he doesn’t want to talk about it,” he put his hand on her shoulder. “I know you want to help him, but we need to respect his wishes and not pry too much remember.”

“I know, I know, I just,” she sighed and turned to Levi, “I’m just worried about you that’s all,” she said before wrapping her arms around him. Levi looked kinda shocked but he didn’t push her away. I actually heard him whisper a thank you to her. “I’m always here if you need to talk okay?” She said before letting him go. He gave her a nod and she turned to me.

“Same goes for you ya hear?” she gave me a smile and I nodded back.

“Anyway, that’s not why I asked you to stay back,” Erwin said cutting in. “I wanted to check on you too but I also wanted to see if you caught anything from anyone,” Erwin said before sitting in the chair next to Levi. “I mean that’s why you put yourself through that torture. So did you find anything?”

“I mean, a lot of people have thought about it in the past some even attempted it. However, as far as I could tell no one was planning to attempt it again. Some had a dark thought for a moment but caught themselves so I think everyone left in a good mindset,” Levi said with a sigh of relief.

“Good, good,” Erwin said before patting Levi’s back. “What you did was stupid and reckless, but I’m not going to lie I’m proud of you for doing it. That being said please don’t do something this stupid or reckless again.”

“I’ll try not to,” Levi said before rubbing his head, “it’s a real pain, literally.”

Erwin smiled before officially dismissing us. I helped Levi to his feet and I saw he was a little wobbly on his legs.

“Sorry I guess I’m still a little out of it,” he said putting his hand up to his head an I saw him blinking slowly. I could only assume that he must be dizzy.

“If you want I could carry you,” I suggested.

“No that would draw a lot of attention to us,” Levi said before taking a deep breath.

I just walked next to him and put my arm around him to brace him so he didn’t fall over. We headed out of the gym and saw Jean and Marco waiting by the door.

“There you are,” Jean said giving us a little smile.

“We wanted to make sure you guys got to your dorm okay,” Marco said sweetly. I knew they were still worried about Levi hell Jean saw me watching him like a hawk all class. He even asked if Levi was truly okay and I couldn’t give him a straight answer.

They walked with us to the dorm and waited for us to get inside before going into their own room. I helped Levi sit down on his bed before he let out a long sigh.

“Do we have to talk about what happened?” He asked looking at the grown avoiding my eyes.

“Yes,” I kept my answer simple. I didn’t want to pry but at the same time, I needed to know why he was pushing himself so hard. Maybe if I knew why then I could help take some of the weight off his shoulders.

“Okay,” He said awkwardly before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.   
I have to warn you that when my emotions get too strong I lose control of my powers,” he said and I just sat on the bed next to him and placed my hand over his.

“That’s okay,” I said with a smile.

He opened his eyes and gave me a small smile back, “okay.”

“You don’t have to tell me everything, just what’s bothering you.”

“Well, Ymir’s story got to me,” he paused for a second before taking a deep breath, “more than I thought any story would. Then she said it was because someone told her it would help me, but all it did was remind me of a time in my life that I want nothing more than to forget.” He stopped talking and I gave his hand a light squeeze.

“What about her story got to you?” I asked trying to understand a little more.

“No,” he mumbled quietly. “I can’t,” he shook his head before bringing his hands up to his face. I felt tears start rolling down my face. I tried to wipe them away but more replaced them. I scooted closer to Levi and intertwined our fingers. I could tell he wasn’t crying, but he definitely felt like doing so.

“Hey it’s okay, you don’t have to tell me everything remember, if you can just give me a quick explanation, I don’t need the painful details,” I tried to compromise since I didn’t want to push too hard to get information but at the same time I still didn’t know anything.

He took a deep breath before I heard him mumbled out two words, “car accident.” I took a moment to remember Ymir’s story. She was in a car accident and she lost people in that car accident. Her story was supposed to help Levi does that mean Levi lost someone in a car accident?

“Okay that’s a start,” I said, giving his hand another light squeeze. “Did someone you know get in a car accident?”

“Yeah,” Levi took a deep breath before lifting up his shirt a little exposing a large scar on the side of his abdomen, “me.”

“Oh,” I said quietly and he dropped his shirt back down. “Did you lose someone in the car accident?” I asked and Levi stood up so fast he was just a blur.

“I can’t talk about this anymore,” he said quickly, his tone was different there was way more emotion in it than normal. He sounded panicked, sad, angry, and scared. He walked towards the bathroom on unstable legs.

“Wait, Levi, I’m sorry,” I said, trying to get him to come sit back down.

“I just need to be alone for a minute,” he said quickly his voice more panicked than before. I felt his emotions hit me and I realized he was having a panic attack. That question must have pushed him past his breaking point somehow.

“Okay I understand that but you’re having a panic attack and-” he cut me off before I could finish speaking and that’s when I noticed some objects around him started floating. Oh shit, that’s right he did mention he doesn’t have full control over his powers when his emotions get too strong.

“I said I just need to be alone,” he said louder and a book flew at me. I closed my eyes and put my hands up to stop it from hitting me in the face.

After a few seconds, I cautiously opened my eyes again and saw the book stopped inches from my arms and I heard Levi’s voice cut through the sounds of all the other objects hitting the floor. “Eren I’m sorry I didn’t hurt you did-,” he turned around and looked at the book before looking at me.

“No you didn’t hurt me you stopped it just in time,” I said giving him a smile.

I watched as he looked at the book and then down at his hands before slowly looking back up at the book that had made its way to the ceiling. “Eren I didn't do that,” he said staring at the book before looking back to me.

I looked up at the book and as I did so it fell from the ceiling and landed in my hands. I just stared at it for a second before blurting out whatever came to mind. “Whoa, what the hell,” I said before looking back at Levi and then back to the book. I handed the book back to Levi, “throw it again!” I asked with a huge grin on my face.

“The first time I threw it, it was an accident, but now you want me to throw it at you on purpose?” He asked with a confused look.

“Yup,” I nodded before backing up to where I was standing before.

“Are you sure?” he asked nervously looking at the book.

“Yeah throw it!” I said with an excited smile and a thumbs up.

“Um okay,” Levi said before winding his arm back. I watched as it left his fingers and next thing I know the book hit me in the face and I fell to the floor. I could already feel my eye start to swell. Shit.

Levi ran over to me and kneeled down next to me, “Eren are you okay that sounded like it hurt,” he said before looking at my eye.

“It did but I’m too excited to care,” I said before trying to open my eye before feeling a rush of pain. “Okay, maybe I’m not too excited to care,” I said before laying down. The pain came with a major headache. “I can’t open my eye.”

“Shit we need to go find Hanji,” Levi said trying to help me up off the ground.

“Yeah and next time we need to use a smaller book,” I said getting off the floor. Levi picked up the dictionary size book, probably to show Hanji what hit me. He grabbed my hand and we left the dorm room to try and find Hanji.


	40. The Clipboard

Levi led me down the hall and took a breath. He stopped and looked like he was debating on which way to go. “Do you think they are still in the gym?” He asked. I heard him ask the question but I couldn’t think clearly enough to respond.

I opened my mouth to speak but all that came out was a jumbled mess of words.“idunomabe”

He stopped and pulled out his headphones before looking me in the eyes. “Shit,” he said before getting even more frantic. “I hope she’s still in the gym.” He said before quickly pulling me in that direction.

I head was really foggy all I knew was it hurt like a bitch and I just wanted to take a nap and sleep it off. I guess I didn’t realize how tired I was earlier.

“Hey Earth to Eren,” Levi said as we left the dorm building and headed for the gym. “Stay with me ya hear?”

I wasn’t planning on going anywhere. I thought sarcastically before closing my eyes. It was way too bright outside. I quickly opened my eyes back up as the world felt like it was spinning with my eyes closed. I tripped over my own feet and fell to my knee. Levi held my hand tighter and helped me up.

Levi remained panicked but slowed his pace a little. We made it to the gym and Levi tried the doorknob. The door opened and he quickly poked his head inside. Hanji and Erwin were still in here. All the chairs were gone but it looks like they were still cleaning up the food.

“Hanji help,” Levi said getting her attention.

“What happened?” Hanji asked practically running over to us. Erwin was close behind her.

Levi sounded really panicked and scared but I don’t think it was all that serious. It’s just a headache and my eye will probably be bruised.

“I threw this book at Eren and-,” Levi started as he held up the book but was cut off.

“You threw a book at Eren’s face?” Hanji asked looking at my eye and back to Levi and the book he was holding.

“Well I kinda asked him too,” I said before she got mad at him.

Hanji just looked at me with a really confused look before looking at Levi.

“Well ya see,” Levi said taking a deep breath, “I lost control of my emotions and my telekinesis went a little haywire. I threw a book at him on accident but then something happened. Eren wanted me to throw it again to see if it would happen again so he handed it to me and I threw it and well it hit him in the head and now I think he has a concussion,” Levi said before looking at me.

“A concussion?” Hanji asked before having me sit on the floor.

“Yeah, I took my headphones off to make sure and so far it doesn’t look too good. His thoughts say it all.”

“Okay,” Hanji said before putting one of her hands on my forehead and the other on the back of my head. “How hard did you throw the damn book?” Hanji asked with a worried expression.

“I don’t know pretty hard, I wasn’t exactly thinking straight,” Levi said before grabbing my hand and whispering an apology.

“Next time we will use a smaller book,” I said to try and make Hanji feel better.

“Next time use a damn pillow,” she said rolling her eyes and letting out an exhausted sigh.

“Oh, that would be smarter,” I said awkwardly with a little laugh.

“Okay your head should be feeling a lot better now,” she said removing her hands. “Now for that black eye,” she said before lightly running her fingers over my eye. “Better?” She asked.

I opened my eye and didn’t feel any pain and my headache had even gone away. “Much,” I said giving her a smile.

“Now what exactly happened the first time Levi threw the book?” Hanji asked.

“It floated!” I quickly said. “I thought Levi stopped it, but he said it wasn’t him and then I saw it had floated to the ceiling so it must have been my power right?” I asked really excitedly.

Hanji’s eyes went wide and she turned to Erwin before grabbing his shoulders, “I told you all didn’t I,” She said really excitedly.

She turned back to me, “I can finally tell you,” she said before helping me off the floor and dragging me to her classroom. Levi followed behind me he seemed just as confused as I did.

“You knew he could do this?” He asked.

“Well, not to this extent, I’ll explain just wait till we get to the classroom,” she said happily.

She unlocked her door before walking straight over to her desk and pulling out that damn clipboard. Am I finally going to learn what's on it?

“Seems so,” Levi said answering my thoughts.

She handed me the clipboard and told me to read by my name. “Eren, levitation, so he says, I think his power isn’t what he seems. Ask him to explain how it feels to use it or have him demonstrate to you then tell me your thoughts,” I read out loud before looking back up to her. She pulled out the notes she had written.

“So you knew I could levitate other things?” I asked and she started laughing.

She pulled a note out of her desk and handed it to me. “I wrote this note back at the beginning of my first class with you.

I looked at the note before reading it, “Eren has gravity manipulation powers,” I read it over again. “Wait what?” I asked looking back up to her.

“I knew you could manipulate your gravity however I didn’t know you could manipulate the gravity of other things. That is new even to me.” Hanji shrugged.

“What? How?” I can't wrap my head around this, “wouldn’t I have noticed that before now?”

“I think you have noticed it but you haven’t really given it a second thought.” She shrugged. “Your power is definitely influenced by your emotions though.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I first noticed it on the first day when I was walking around and I noticed you were experiencing some negative emotions I noticed the air around you seemed heavier than usual. Then when I talked to you about your power you said you feel lighter.” She smiled.

“Wait so the air actually does get heavier, I just thought that was my mind playing tricks on me,” I let out a sigh. I thought that was depression and anxiety working against me but no it was my own power putting the weight of the world on my shoulders, literally in a sense. So because of my mental illnesses, I totally missed the fact that I have these powers.

Levi grabbed my hand and laced our fingers together. “Ain't that a bitch,” he whispered with a teasing tone but made sure to give my hand a tight squeeze.

I had to stop myself from laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. Finally, something clicked and I looked back up at Hanji. “So this is the secret all the teachers were keeping from me?” I asked and she nodded happily.

“If we would have told you before you figured it out you would have never believed us, hell I think you are still having trouble believing it,” she laughed, “and well even if you did believe us then it would be harder for you to learn to use your powers since you would be forcing them rather than letting you figure out how they worked on your own.” She explained.

“That makes sense,” I nodded, “I mean I just tried to force myself with the book, and that didn’t go very well.

“Exactly,” she said with a big smile.

“Well, now we can tell the other teacher that you know and they can start working with you on that,” Erwin said and Hanji gave him a nod.

“Now I get you’re excited about your powers and you probably want to test them out, but you also have to be careful. Right now you don’t know how they work or their limits so try not to push yourself so hard.”

“So you’re telling me to wait to use my powers until I can work with the teachers?” I asked I tried to hide the disappointment in my voice but I’m pretty sure it was noticeable.

“No not at all,” Erwin laughed, “besides even if I did, I wouldn’t expect you to listen since hell I know I wouldn’t,” he said before clearing his throat. “All I’m saying is start with the simple stuff. Like Hanji said before a pillow or even an eraser since a pillow still might be too big to focus on.”

“Oh, okay got it,” I said giving him a smile.

“So we can eventually work our way back up to books,” Levi teased.

“Nah I think we can skip books entirely I might be traumatized after today,” I teased back.

“Well glad you can laugh about it now,” Hanji rolled her eyes and let out a little smile. She cleared her throat and looked back to me, “well now you will at least be able to recognize your powers and when you are using them even if you don’t mean to like you were before.”

“Thanks, Hanji,” I smiled.

After we finished talking to them we headed back to our dorm. “Sorry,” I mumbled looking up to Levi. He had put his headphones back in before we left since Hanji practically made him.

“Why are you sorry? I’m the one who nailed you with the book,” He said and I shook my head.

“No, I mean I’m sorry about before that. I pushed you too much to open up and ended up causing more harm than good.”

“No, that’s not your fault either. Again I’m the one who should be apologizing. I knew where the conversation was going to lead before we ever started it. I should have made it clear how sensitive that topic can be rather than just ignoring it and then blowing up at you when the topic came up.” Levi let out a sigh before grabbing my hand and giving me an apologetic look, “So for that, I’m very sorry. Also, I will try to never lose control like that again. It scared me when I realized that I was the one throwing things and at you of all people.”

“Hey it’s okay,” I said, giving his hand a light squeeze, “I know you didn’t mean to, hell I could feel your guilt from across the room and when I opened my eyes and saw you turn around I even saw tears on your face. Also, I don’t expect you to tell me everything, and if you aren’t comfortable with opening up then I won’t make you. I just want to make sure you aren’t fighting your battles alone.”

Levi gave me a smile “Well, I know you said you won’t make me open up, but I will try better at opening up more to you because I want to. So that being said I’m opening up enough to tell you that I’m very stressed out and tonight is not the night to finish that conversation we were having before everything went down. However, we will finish it, one day.”

I just gave him a smile and a little nod, “fair enough.” We made it to our dorm and we were heading inside but not before hearing a disturbing noise in Jean and Marco’s dorm.

“Should we tell them?” I asked.

“Not it,” Levi said before leaning up against our door.

“Damn,” I let out a sigh and knocked on the door.

It took a moment but it finally opened a crack to Jean who was in nothing but a pair of boxers. “Eren now’s not a really good time,” he said.

“Yeah we know,” I said before clearing my throat, “and so will everyone else in the dorms if yall don’t quiet down,” I said giving them a heads up.

“I told you we were being too loud,” I heard Marco say from a little bit behind him.

Jean’s face went pale before nodding, “thanks for the warning.”

“No problem, don’t forget to use protection,” I said with a cheeky grin and Jean slammed the door.

I turned around and Levi was laughing and shaking his head. He opened to door and gestured for me to walk in, “after you.”


	41. Practice

After we got back in the dorm we had instantly laid down in Levi’s bed after the long stressful day we had. Both of us were in agreement that we needed a nap. He had set an alarm so we could get dinner and go out to the field. He was determined to go out there tonight no matter what. He had said despite not hearing any super concerning thoughts that people could always change their mind for the worst.

We woke up and did just that stopping at the cafeteria before heading out and sitting on the field. We laid the blanket down on the field and I pulled out some pencils and erasers and set them down in front of me.

“Are you going to write? I think you went a little overboard with the pencils, I mean I get having one or two maybe even three, but you have at least 10 there.” Levi said with a confused look.

“No I’m gonna practice my powers,” I said and Levi pulled out his headphones really fast.

“I wouldn’t use the pencils,” he said quickly. “Or at least none of the ones that are actually sharpened.”

“Why?”

“Well Hanji said you can control gravity meaning making things lighter and heavier, you don’t want to accidentally shish kabob your leg or something.”

I looked down at the pencils and nodded before breaking off the points “you’ve got a point there,” I laughed awkwardly, “one trip to Hanji today was enough.”

“Yeah, besides we don’t want to hear them lecture us for like the 5th time today,” Levi said before looking at the small erasers I had grabbed. “Why don’t you start with those?”

“Yeah, that’s probably best,” I looked at the eraser that was no bigger than a fingernail. “How hard could it be?”

I was a fool. A fool, I jinxed myself. How hard could it be, I was asking for trouble with that sentence. I said that over an hour ago and apparently it’s was actually really difficult. My brain hurt trying to figure out what exactly I did that made that damn book float in the first place. I threw myself back on the blanket in defeat. Levi looked up from his book with a little smile over his face.

“You’ll get it eventually, don’t worry. Powers aren’t just learned in one day,” he said trying to be comforting.

“Says the man who is reading without even touching the damn book,” I said staring at the book that was floating in front of him.

“Hey, do you know how long it took me to be able to do stuff like this?” He asked shaking his head. “It takes practice.”

“You think I’d have plenty of practice with making things float hell I was able to make myself float, or should I say weightless? I’m not really sure anymore.”

“And that’s your problem,” Levi said putting the bookmark in the book and setting it down on the blanket without ever lifting a finger. “You’re doubting yourself you keep questioning how you did it before and second-guessing yourself.”

“I mean how could I not. I thought I had levitation powers and now all of a sudden I can control gravity? That’s a big difference and I have no clue how to go about this.”

“Well, how did you make the book float? What emotion were you feeling?

I took a minute to think before shrugging, “panic mostly.”

“Oh, sorry,” Levi said probably remembering he was the one who threw it in the first place.

“Well I don’t think being panicked every time you use your power is a good thing,” Levi mumbled before thinking about it.

“Well, how did you make yourself float?”

“I just imagined myself being lifted off the ground like I was weightless,” I said before shaking my head and mentally dismissing it. I mean that’s different that's when I thought my powers were levitation so I doubt the same rules apply.

“Maybe the same rules do apply?” Levi suggested but his tone sounded a little unsure. “I mean, maybe your powers kinda work like mine?” He said and I remember what Hanji said the first day of class. She was saying that some people have similar powers but they might differ slightly depending on how they work or their strength. She compared mine to Levi’s.

“Oh, she did? Well then maybe I am on to something,” Levi said before setting the erasers in front of me and some in front of himself. “So for my power when I first started to use it I used to have to move my hands with it. If I wanted this eraser to lift up what I would have to do is stand back a little stretch my arm out towards it and think that I was lifting it up normally even though I wasn’t touching it. Eventually, that started to work.” He said demonstrating by lifting the erasers up. “From there I was able to learn the more complicated stuff but I had to start with a basic understanding of how to do it.”

“What do you mean? I understood what he was saying but I need him to clarify how that might work with my power.

“Well, you said you would imagine yourself being lifted off the ground right? So maybe you have to imagine these being lifted off the ground like they are weightless. You have to focus on them and put the emotions you felt into lifting yourself up into lifting up the erasers.”

I nodded and looked at one of the erasers. The same emotions. I looked at the eraser and imagine it being lifted up like it was weightless the same way I imagined myself doing so.

It worked… a little too well.

“What the fuck just happened?” Levi asked as the eraser that was just sitting in front of us on the blanket shot up into the sky so fast that we almost didn’t see it disappear.

“Well, I did what you said, but I think the problem was I’m a lot heavier than the eraser, so maybe I needed to account for that and put a little less effort into lifting it up,” I said before looking into the sky where the eraser had vanished.

“Ya think?” Levi laughed before looking up at the stars. “Well, do you think you would be able to bring it back down? Or is it just gone?” He asked with a little smile.

“I can try, but I don’t really know it’s probably gone.”

I imagined the same heavy feeling I always feel on my shoulders and put it to the eraser or at least I tried too. Nothing happened for a moment. “Maybe it’s just gone?” I asked before the eraser came down so fast it took a moment to figure out exactly what happened. I looked down and there was a hole ripped into the blanket and it looked like it went far into the ground.

“We could have died,” Levi said pale-faced looking at the size of the hole in the blanket. “That came down like a bullet.”

“Um, maybe I should have just tried to restore its normal gravity?” Levi looked at the hole before back to me, “Ya think? Eren, I don’t feel like dying tonight, please don’t do that again,” he said before letting out a long sigh and mumbling, “you’re going to be the death of me.”

“I wanna try again, but this time I won’t try to make it heavier I’ll just return it to normal,” I promised him as he stared at me with a glare.

“I swear if you kill me, I will haunt the shit out of you, hell I’ll sic Ymir on you.” He said before letting out a sigh. “Okay try again,” he said before backing up a little this time.

“Okay,” I said taking a deep breath. I tried to make it a little lighter than before, however, it still wasn’t easy enough. It flew into the air it was a little slower than last time but it was quickly out of sight in the stars again. I tried to just put it back to normal but after a moment still nothing. We both looked at the sky for a moment before Levi turned his eyes to me.

Maybe if I just slightly increase the grav-.

“Just count your losses don’t you dare do that again,” he said reading my thoughts.

“Okay, fair enough. I said leaning forward to grab another eraser. I felt something pelt me in the head like a pebble getting thrown at me and saw as the eraser bounced back on the blanket. I rubbed my head where it hit me but looked back up at Levi with a smile, “it worked.”

“Yeah it worked, and aren’t you glad I stopped you from increasing gravity, it would have killed you,” Levi said I could feel the panic radiating off his body.

“How about we try something that might make it a little easier,” Levi took a deep breath to try and calm himself. “Pick up an eraser,” he said and I did just that. “Now feel how heavy it is. Focus on its weight.”

“Okay,” I said closing my eyes and focusing solely on the eraser in my hand.

“Okay, do you have a general idea of its weight?” Levi asked.

“Yeah kinda,” I said opening my eyes.

“Alright now try and make it float again, but keep focusing on its weight try not to make it launch into the sky.

I took a deep breath and imagined the eraser slowly getting weightless and to my surprise, it actually worked this time. It had started slowly floating above my hand and was slowly lifting into the air.

“Awesome, you did it, babe,” he said and I felt my cheeks heat up.

“It was all thanks to your help,” I said back before letting the eraser falling into my hand. Hmm, I wonder. I thought before increasing gravity gradually.

I felt as my hand started to feel heavier. I wanted to make sure I was increasing the gravity on the eraser rather than on my hand so I dropped the eraser out of my hand. Dumb move it landed on my foot.

“Son of a bitch,” I said before pulling my show off and seeing a bruise already starting to form.

“Hey it could have been worse,” Levi shrugged, “you could have died earlier so I would say that’s an improvement.”

“Yeah, but how can I get one right but the other really wrong? I mean that felt like I dropped a 10-pound weight on my foot.”

“Well, you never really used that side of your powers on purpose before today, so I mean I guess it makes sense that you wouldn’t have total control over it.” Levi shrugged before taking a look at my new bruise. “Maybe you should wait to work on that one with the teachers, or at least keep and body parts out of the way of any objects you do test it on.”

“Yeah, that’s probably smart,” I said rubbing my foot before letting out a yawn. I was starting to get a headache and I was getting even more tired.

“You’re not used to using your powers this much so yeah, it’s going to zap your energy.” Levi said before patting one of his legs, “here laid down you should take a break,” he said and I happily laid my head in his lap. I closed my eyes and just listened to the sounds of the night. To my surprise, I actually didn’t fall asleep this time, but I did get rid of my headache by resting my eyes and my mind.

I opened my eyes and just watched as Levi read. I watched the floating book as the pages turned by themselves every once in a while. I watched how he would smile to himself every once in a while about something he read.

He looked down at me after a while, “your thoughts are so cheesy,” he said with an embarrassed smile.

“What I can’t think about how amazing you look,” I asked and he just rolled his eyes before leaning down and pressing his lips to mine.

“Flattery with get you nowhere,” he said after pulling away from the kiss.

“Really because I think flattery just got me a kiss.”

He rolled his eyes a little and just smile, “whatever.” He said before turning back towards his book.

“So how long did it take you to master your powers?” I asked and Levi looked back to me.

“I still haven’t. I have barely any control over two of my three powers,” he sighed.

“Well what about the third power, you have a lot of control over that one.”

“Only when I’m in a clear state of mind. If not I have no control.”

“Well, how long did it take you to get control of it for the most part? Like how long did it take you to be able to use your power without much thought?”

“About a week,” Levi shrugged.

“I thought you said it took a while?”

“It did, I mean kinda. I worked for a week straight with barely any breaks aside from sleeping to master my powers. It was because I had a lot of free time and didn’t want to be stuck in my thoughts so I kept myself busy and kept myself working. There is only so much you can do in a hospital bed,” Levi said before stopping abruptly.

“You don’t have to talk about that,” I said looking up at Levi who looked like he was overthinking what to say next.

He took a deep breath, “It was after the car accident,” he said taking another deep breath before shaking his head. “Sorry I thought I might be able to talk a little bit about it, but I guess not,” he sighed.

I sat up and wrapped my arms around him, “it’s okay, thank you for telling me what you did. It’s progress,” I smiled repeating the words he had said to me earlier.

“I guess we both need practice. You with your powers and me opening up,” Levi said with a little smile.

“We can do it with each other’s help.”

“Yeah,” Levi said leaning his head against my shoulder.


	42. Heading to Class

We both took it easy for a little while before heading back to our dorm room. “Well, mission accomplished,” I said happily to Levi, “we didn’t see anyone last night.”

“That’s not entirely true,” Levi said a little worried. “I noticed someone towards the edge of the field. They took one look at us and turned back around. I couldn’t see who it was and they were too far for me to reach with my powers.” Levi sighed.

“Wait really? When was that?”

“When I was reading and you were resting your eyes,” Levi said before letting out a long sigh. “I just hope whoever it was is okay.”

“Maybe they were just out for a walk? I said optimistically.

“Yeah, hopefully,” Levi nodded before giving me a small smile. “We should get some rest,” he said, changing the subject.

“Yeah, okay.” We climbed into bed and cuddled up. He held me close to him as he closed his eyes. I just leaned into his embrace before closing my own eyes.

When I woke up the next morning I checked the schedule for the day. It seemed our normal schedule was different It was Eld from 9 to 12 and Auruo from 1 to 4.

“That’s because Hanji and Erwin hosted the special lesson so Eld’s class moved a day. Levi said sitting up.

Oh. I looked at the rest of the estimated schedule. This week was different than last week by a lot.

“We usually have a pretty set schedule but last week was different because of the introduction day and such.” Levi shrugged. “Normally Mondays it’s Hanji and Eld. Tuesdays are Erwin and Auruo. Wednesdays are Petra and Mike. Thursdays are joint classes between two teachers usually. Fridays are either also joint classes or special classes,” Levi explained before pointing at the schedule to show me.

“So it says this Thursday we have a joint class between Hanji and Erwin from 9 to 12 and Eld and Mike from 1 to 4.”

“Why does Friday have an asterisk near it?” I asked reading that it was supposed to be a joint class between Auruo and Petra. “Does it mean it’s important?”

“No, it means it could change. They might be planning to replace it with a special lesson.”

“Like the power trigger lesson?” I asked.

“Kinda, except that lesson was put together by mostly Hanji and Erwin that’s why they were the only teachers teaching it, if there was a special lesson planned on friday then most likely all the teachers would be there.”

“All of them?” I asked a little overwhelmed.

“Yeah and depending on the severity of the lesson the principles might be there too,” Levi said unphased before going back to getting dressed.

“Wait what,” I asked a little panicked now. That sounds horrifying.

“It’s not that bad, normally they are just like school assemblies we go to the gym they ramble on like normal and then we’re done. I mean there is a rare chance we will have to actually do something.” He shrugged it off.

I felt a little better about the whole thing, but that still sounded like a horrible experience. “Well let’s hope they decide not to change it,” I mumbled before heading to get ready.

We started heading to class and a thought occurred to me. We’ve been going over powers, starting with the teachers' powers does that mean that eld will be going over a randomized power since he went over his power last time?

“Probably,” Levi answered and I just laughed. “What?” He asked giving me a confused look.

“It’s nothing,” I said before thinking the rest. It’s just funny how I’ve gotten used to you answering my thoughts. It’s cute actually.

“Oh,” he said with a little smile as he rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly.

I looked up and down the hallway and made sure it was clear. I did see two people but it didn’t matter. I leaned over and gave Levi a little peck on the lips. He grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers.

“Get a room,” I heard Jean say as he and Marco approached.

“You’re one to talk,” I raised an eyebrow before giving him a devious smirk, “yesterday we heard you through a brick wall.”

Jean got really quiet and Marco just gave an awkward smile before changing the subject. “You look like you’re feeling better,” he said to Levi.

“Much, all I needed was some rest,” he said back with a smile.

“And some dick from Eren,” I heard Jean mumbled under his breath.

“Nah I wish,” I mumbled back and both Levi and Marco looked mildly horrified. “Shit I said that out loud,” I mumbled before realizing it didn’t matter even if I just thought it Levi still would have heard it. Alarm bells were ringing in my head as I just looked towards Jean.

“You got us both in trouble,” I whispered to him looking at the looks on both of our boyfriends' faces.

“I’m already in hot water from last night,” Jean whisperer so Marco couldn’t hear him. “He wasn't too happy with me after knowing you guys could hear us,” he laughed awkwardly.

“That’s rough dude,” I nodded.

“Anyway,” Marco said clearing his throat. “We should be heading to class.”

“Agreed,” Levi said before raising an eyebrow at me.

My face exploded with blush after realizing that I had let my thoughts run unfiltered for a second there. Sorry, sorry, sorry, I mentally apologized over and over again. I had totally imagined what Jean. Levi moaning under me, and vice versa. I cleared my thoughts and looked back up at Levi who was in a conversation with Marco now.

“You okay?” Jean asked looking at my face, “you look like you’ve just been hit with a tomato,” he joked.

“I’m okay, I was just thinking of something,” I said before realizing I should have at least lied.

“Aye,” Jean said nudging my arm, “do you need a room by yourself?” Jean teased.

“Shut up,” I said before pinching the bridge of my nose that is the last thing I need right now.

We all headed toward class and Jean and I didn’t even notice Jean and Marco break off into their own conversation until Levi walked up next to me and lightly nudged my arm.

“You don’t need to panic about it,” he rolled his eyes, “we’re dating I’m not surprised you have those kinds of thoughts,” he smiled, “I think I’d be more concerned if you didn’t. And I mean I didn’t hate the thought of it. Quite the opposite actually,” he mumbled and that’s when I noticed he was holding his book a little different than usual. Usually, he carries it closer to his chest as he walks, but it was definitely positioned a lot lower than his chest.

Did you-?

“Please don’t finish that thought,” Levi mumbled rolling his eyes. “But yes,” he said and I felt a rush of embarrassment. It wasn’t mine this time.

“That’s hot,” I whispered back.

“Shut up,” he mumbled. "We can discuss this later," Levi said looking to the ground. I could tell he was really embarrassed and decided to drop it for now.

“Hey what are you two whispering about?” Jean asked he had a weird look on his face.

“It’s nothing important,” I laughed, not knowing how to come up with a lie for this one.

“Um alright?” He said before turning back to Marco.

“Shit.” I heard Levi mumbled.

“What’s wrong?”

“He was watching us. He saw only me talking for a few minutes,” Levi took a breath, “he’s very suspicious but he’s not sure since he did see you say something.”

“Oh,” I said quietly before looking up at them. Would it really be bad if they knew?

“Yes, no… I don’t know,” Levi let out a sigh. “I’m not ready for that conversation.”

“Fair enough, but it is something to think about. They are your friends, just remember that.” I said before lightly grabbing his hand since there was no one else around. I knew when we got closer to class we wouldn’t be able to hold hands, but for the time being, I just wanted to hold him.


	43. Zoning Out in Class

When we got closer to class Eren reluctantly let my hand go before anyone could see. We made our way in the class and sat down in our usual seats. Jean and Marco had sat directly in front of us. After sitting down I grabbed Eren’s hand under the table. I took a deep breath and looked over at him before whispering, “I want to tell them, but I can't, at least not today.” I let out a little sigh after thinking really hard about it.

“Okay, if you want I can help you tell them when the time comes,” He smiled and gave my hand a light squeeze.

“I’d like that,” I nodded before giving him a little smile. “Oh no,” I whispered after hearing a thought from Jean.

Jean turned around and leaned his arms on our desk. “So,” he looked both of us in the eyes before grinning like an idiot, “how do you guys like sharing a room so far?” I knew exactly what he wanted to hear.

“Jean stop,” Marco nudged him.

“You can’t tell me you’re not curious too?” He raised an eyebrow.

“No, because it’s none of our business,” Marco rolled his eyes.

He turned back to us for a moment, “I mean you don’t have to tell me but I am very curious, anything you want to share I’m all ears.” He smiled and Marco just let out a defeated sigh.

I saw the chance and took it. I smiled before leaning forward and whispering “Well, I think what you want to hear is all the dirty little details right?” I asked and Jean smiled really big and nodded. “Well, in that case, I got nothing for you,” I shrugged.

Jean pouted for a second. “Hey, I mean it’s not like we’re hiding anything, there just isn’t anything to say about that topic.” I stopped before shooting Eren a devious grin, “at least not yet, but maybe soon,” I said before sitting back up and acting like nothing happened. I hope Eren picked up on what I was implying, I mean I made it pretty obvious.

Jean looked at Eren with a stupid looking grin on his face. I could tell Eren was still trying to process what I had said. His cheeks turning a darker red the more he thought about it. Does this mean he is more comfortable with that stuff? Eren thought before remembering that I could hear him. He turned to me waiting for an answer so I gave him one. I smiled and gave him a wink. Well shit. Eren thought before taking a deep breath. He had to put his head down for a minute to avoid getting too excited. It was really adorable.

“Well, then,” Jean said before turning to Marco with wide eyes and a smile.

“Thank you for telling us even though you didn’t have too,” Marco said being polite.

I just shrugged, “as for the normal everyday stuff we just kinda cuddle and shit.”

“Do you guys still sleep in the same bed?” Jean asked he seemed just as excited to hear about the little stuff as much as the dirty stuff.

“Yeah, it’s nice,” I smiled innocently. “It’s a lot easier to fall asleep when you’re next to someone you care about.”

“I feel the same way,” Jean said before putting his hand over Marco’s. Marco’s cheeks instantly reddened a little before he smiled looking back at Jean.

I just smiled it was refreshing watching them. I could definitely see the look Marco was talking about. When they looked at each other there was an undeniable feeling of love between them. I looked down and Eren and could feel the same feeling. I don’t know whether I should be excited or worried. Having strong feelings for another person is amazing, however, it has the potential to be absolutely devastating. This one person has so much power over my life and they don’t even know it.

I felt some doubts start to slip into my mind. The thoughts I used to hear every day started to come back. Break up with him, they kept telling me. I took a deep breath and shoved them away. They won’t ruin this for me. Yes these emotions are scary and they have the potential to hurt me, but it doesn’t mean that’s what will happen. Even if this relationship does end in heartbreak then all of this would still be worth it.

I looked down at Eren and gave his hand a light squeeze. When his eyes peeked up at me my heart nearly leaped out of my chest. He’s probably going to break my heart one day, but I don’t care. I smiled at him and I realized how stupid I was being.

I was making him feel like shit for no reason. I held onto his hand under the table and gave him a smile before letting go. I brought my hand above the table and opened my hand for him to take.

He looked at me confused before looking around the room and then back to me. “People are going to see?” He whispered.

I just nodded, “I know, let them see. I’m not ashamed of our relationship,” I said giving him a smile I know that what he was thinking every time I would let go of his hand or lean away from him. I know I told myself that it was because I didn’t want people to judge him for hanging out with me, but I think it was because I was embarrassed. I spent so long pushing everyone away and now just like that here I am holding someone's hand. I guess I was more afraid of them judging me for being such a hypocrite.

Eren hesitated for a second trying to figure out if I was serious or not. He grabbed my hand and then looked around the room almost as if he thought by doing so the whole class would just stop and stare. I can’t blame him for thinking that because my mind told me the same thing. It never happened no one stared, no one even noticed at first. Jean and Marco noticed, but that’s because they were still facing us.

“You’re not worried about being outed?” Jean asked before looking around the room.

“Nope, I’m proud to be with him and I don’t care who knows it,” I said and Jean looked down at the ground. I felt guilt radiating off of him.

“Um, Marco-.” Jean started only to be cut off by Marco shaking his head.

“Don’t feel like you have to if you don’t want to,” Marco said with a smile.

“But I do want to,” he said back with a smile.

“Okay,” Marco said before letting Jean take his hand.

Jean looked up at me with a big smile, “thank you.”

I just shrugged, “hey I didn’t do it, you did.”

“Hello class,” Eld said walking in the door. “Sorry I know I’m a little late I just came from a teacher's meeting,” he said before pulling out the roll sheet.

He took roll and when he looked up at us as he called our names. I couldn’t help but take the opportunity. I focused on his thoughts and watched as he gave us a smile. I knew Jean and Marco were dating but Eren and Levi, that’s new. Then again it makes sense they both seem to be coming out of their shells more and more. That’s good means they are really good for each other. I smiled before focusing back on Eren’s thoughts. Eld continued on with the roll and I just gave Eren’s hand a light squeeze before smiling at him. I could tell he was still a little nervous but the more reassurance I gave him that this was okay the more he relaxed.

I didn’t purposely go out of my way to worry about what other people would think of us, but it was hard to stop myself from listening in to people's thoughts when I caught them staring at us. Which was hard since no one took more than a glance or two at us.

Mikasa was one of the first people to notice. When I looked at her thoughts I just smiled. I thought I saw something between then before, it all makes sense now, she thought.

Sasha was the next one to look over at us. She did a double-take when she saw us holding hands. They are so adorable, guess I should have figured since they are always hanging out.

I switched over to Armin who had looked at me and gave me a smile. They are holding hands, they are such great friends. I heard his thoughts say and had to stop myself from bursting out into laughter. He’s so innocent he genuinely didn’t think anything of it. Looks like someone will eventually have to tell him if he doesn’t get the message soon.

Christa was the next one to look at me. I locked eyes with her and she gave me a smile, Congrats, she mouthed. Well, no need to read her thoughts there.

The next person I saw looking was Reiner. I mean before yesterday I would have expected something homophobic from him, but I found out he and Berthold are dating so I doubt that he would be homophobic. So they are dating. I thought as much when I saw them on the field last night.

I felt a chill roll down my spine so he was the one who went to the field last night, but why? I listened a little longer and hoped he would touch a little more on that.

Last night, man that was a shitty night, his thoughts continued, first we had that depressing lesson then I went back to my dorm just to get an email from my shitty parents asking if they can visit. How did they even get my email in the first place? I mean hell I’ve made sure to drop all forms of contact so how did they find this? I almost did something stupid last night because they threw me back in such a horrible mindset.

Reiner let out a long deep breath before looking at Berthold and giving him a smile. I’m glad that those two were on the field or I might have lost everything last night. I won’t let them get to me never again. I’m happier now than ever with a man who loves me for me. I let his thoughts drift away.

I see. I let out a sigh of relief. I’m glad I was at the field last night. Sometimes all it takes is just seeing someone in the way to stop you and bring you out of that mindset, but for the people that it doesn’t stop I’m there to physically stop them and help them.

I turned my attention back to Eld who had finished explaining that we will be going over different powers now since he already went over his. “Metal manipulation,” he said. That was today's topic.

Normally I’d pay attention to the lessons even if it’s only partially, but I kept having this feeling of being watched. I looked around the room and no one was looking at me at the moment except for Eren who saw me looking around. That's when I noticed Ymir glance next to me and mouth “stop it.”

I focused on her for a second and listened to her thoughts to try and see what as going on. These damn spirits need to learn what personal space is. Can they knock it off? Normal people can’t see them but they can still sense them. Shit, Levi’s looking at me. Hey Levi, I don’t know if you’re reading my thoughts at the moment but yeah hi.

I just gave her a smile and let out a silent little laugh. Oh so you can hear me well, um I’m sure it’s cause you can feel them, sorry about that they don’t listen to me all the time.

I just gave her a look trying to ask who they are but I don’t know how well that look translated. If you're asking where they are there's one leaning on your back and one sitting on the table in front of you as for who they are, I can’t say. They still haven’t even given me their names. She thought before shrugging. Sorry.

“Two people?” I whispered to myself before clearing my throat. I could tell Eren heard me and he gave me a confused look. I wanted to put my head down, but Ymir had said there was a spirit in front of me on the table. I just let out a sigh as I closed my eyes and kept my head lowered.

You okay? I heard Eren’s thoughts ask.

“Yeah,” I whispered back before remembering that I was going to open up to him more which meant actually telling him my true feelings about things, “no.” I corrected myself. This was going to be a long class.

What’s wrong? His hand gave mine a light squeeze and I did it back.

“I’m not sure yet,” I said quietly. I mean I wasn’t lying I don’t know what’s wrong, but at the same time, I know exactly what’s wrong.


	44. Dropping Walls

I looked around the room and wondered if he heard someone’s thoughts about us holding hands or something like that happened.

“No,” Levi quickly whispered stopping my thoughts in there tracks. “It’s not that. I don’t know,” his voice faded off before he let out a sad sigh. “I just don’t know,” his voice shook a little as he gave my hand a light squeeze for comfort.

I’m sorry. I thought before giving his hand a squeeze back. I’m here for you whether you know what’s wrong or not I will be here for you to listen or to just sit by your side. I thought before turning to look at him.

He looked up at me and gave me a small smile, “You’re amazing,” he said before closing his eyes and leaning over slightly so our shoulders were touching for a moment. I think it was the closest we could get in class without drawing too much attention to us.

Eld finished up the lesson before announcing he was going to start calling people out into the hall. “Alright first up, Er-” Eld cleared his throat and, Armin,” he said and Armin got up and followed him out of the room.

I looked to Levi to see if I was the only one who noticed the slight change in his voice. Levi looked at me and nodded, “he was going to call you, but I think he noticed something that made him change his mind.” Levi whispered.

Oh because we’re holding hands? I thought looking down at our hands.

“No, he noticed me. I dropped my walls for a minute and gave him a look that begged him to call someone else.” He said looking down at the table a little embarrassed.

Hearing him say that I knew something was really wrong. I looked at him and I could see that he was barely holding it together. “Maybe we should go to the bathroom?” I asked and he shook his head.

“No,” he said quietly. “I just need to clear my mind,” he said and I felt his emotions overtake me. I was right he wasn’t okay in the slightest. There was a sense of dread coming over me. There was so much confusion sadness and panic mixed together. I didn’t know what to do but fight back the tears that threatened to spill.

“Hey, are you guys okay?” I heard Jean ask. Both Jean and Marco had turned around probably to talk with us and they must have noticed something was up.

Shit. I lost focus and some tears came out of my eyes. They weren’t mine but now I’m going to have to figure out how to convince him they are.

“Eren you’re crying, what’s wrong,” Jean’s voice filled with concern as he looked around the room.

I heard Levi whisper really quietly to me and it caught me off guard. “You don’t have to lie to him anymore.”

I what. Is he giving me permission to tell Jean about his powers? I looked at him and he gave me a nod.

“I’m okay, they aren’t my tears,” I said quietly so only Jean and Marco could hear me.

“What?” Jean asked looking around again. He looked at Levi who was sitting there with his head down quietly. “Do you know what he’s trying to say?”

“Hey, I’m going to go tell Eld that we’re taking them out of class for a minute,” Marco said to Jean before getting up and heading out of the class. Armin was heading in and taking his seat right as Marco headed out.

Shit. Now they think I’m crazy and they are getting Eld involved.

“Sorry,” Levi whispered to me. I could feel how guilty he was feeling for making me cry. “I can’t get them under control.”

“I know,” I said back and Jean looked even more confused than before.

Marco came back in and gestured for us to follow. Jean got up and Levi and I followed. I was glad that it seemed no one really noticed. Well, Ymir definitely noticed and it kinda made me wonder how long she was watching us.

We made it out of the class and Eld looked at me and Levi. He saw me crying but he must have also seen how calm I looked despite doing so because he instantly turned to Levi.

“Thank you, Jean and Marco, but I can take it from here.” He said trying to dismiss them but Levi just shook his head. “I don’t care if they know,” I heard him whisper to him and Eld nodded.

“Um alright, could you two take Eren to the bathroom so he could dry his eyes,” Eld said before turning to Levi. “What’s wrong?”

Jean just stopped before looking to Marco and leaning over and whispering, “Eren’s the one crying and he’s asking Levi what’s wrong?” He sounded very confused, and I don’t blame him it was a very confusing situation for anyone who wasn’t filled in on Levi’s powers.

“I’m going to go with them,” Levi said ignoring Eld’s question and walking over to where I was.

“Okay, I’m here if you need to talk,” Eld said before opening the door and calling Mikasa out.

We all walked to the bathroom. I could tell Jean and Marco were confused but I didn’t think it was my place to tell them any more about Levi’s powers. I know he said I could, but it seemed more like something he should tell them. When we got in the bathroom Jean quietly grabbed some paper towels and wet them under the sink before walking over to me and helping me wipe off the tears. I thought it would be a useless task, but to my surprise, the tears actually stopped.

I looked up at Levi who was taking some deep breaths. I wasn’t the only one looking at Levi. Marco was watching him and then looking from him to me. “So your power-,” Marco cut himself off for a moment to think. It was obvious he had figured it out from the little I said and from watching us.

“Yeah,” Levi mumbled. “One of my powers is that I can feel people’s emotions and make people feel my emotions.”

“Why would you purposely make Eren cry?” Jean asked quickly. His tone sounded more worried than angry.

“I can’t control it,” Levi said quietly. “I was focusing my other power on Eren and it caused that power to focus on him as well.”

“Hey it’s better than affecting everyone in a radius to him,” I said giving a little shrug.

“What other power? I thought your power was something like telekinesis or something?” Jean asked more confused now than anything.

“Yeah, that’s one of them. I’m also an empath, as well as, um-,” Levi froze for a moment before looking at me. I just gave him a smile and a nod. I was ready for both outcomes and it seems Levi was too. Outcome one, they accept him, outcome two they get. I didn’t think they were the type to do so but just in case I was prepared to step in.

“And what?” Jean asked looking from Levi to me.

“Mind reading,” Levi said rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Jean looked at me and smile. “I knew it,” he said before nudging me, “you told me that you were talking to him that day, but I knew I didn’t hear you say anything and it’s because you didn’t,” Jean said before shaking his head. “I should have known,” he smiled before looking up at Levi.

“I can’t really control that either but if I focus on a single person sometimes I’m able to stop myself from reading everyone's thoughts and getting overwhelmed. So I focus on Eren’s thoughts usually,” Levi explained.

“Is that why you’re always wearing headphones?” Marco asked.

“Pretty much,” Levi said awkwardly. “They stop my power from working.”

“So that whole time I thought you were ignoring me and really you were just trying to stop yourself from reading my thoughts?”

Levi nodded before quietly saying “I don’t like invading people's privacy.”

“So wait? You passing out yesterday in the middle of class, that was you getting overwhelmed right?” Jean asked.

“Yeah,” I said quietly.

“You didn’t focus on Eren’s thoughts?” Jean asked trying to figure out exactly what happened.

“Um, no, I was actually, um,” Levi took a deep breath and looked down to the ground. “I was trying to read everyone's thoughts.”

“But why?” Jean asked.

“You were worried,” Marco quickly said and Levi looked up at him and nodded. “I was worried about everyone too. That’s a very tough topic to go over,” he mumbled the last part.

“So you were looking for what?” Jean asked trying to figure it out.

“I was making sure no one was thinking of killing themselves,” Levi said and jean nodded.

“Oh, that makes sense.”

The room went quiet and they both looked from me to Levi. Marco addressed what they must have both been thinking. “So when Eren said those tears weren’t his-” Marco’s voice drifted off.

“They were my emotions,” Levi admitted quietly.

“But you weren’t crying,” Jean asked confused.

“Levi doesn’t cry as easily as I do,” I explained. “He cries when my emotions affect him but other than that I’ve only seen him cry like once,” I said, having my own moment of realization. The only time I’ve seen him cry his own tears was when I woke up to strong emotions and saw him crying. He had looked just as surprised about it as I was. Maybe he doesn’t cry, like ever.

I looked up at him the question in my mind. Aside from that time when was the last time you actually cried? I asked mentally and walked over to him.

“It’s been years,” Levi said quietly. That can’t be good. That sounds like he’s been holding back his emotions for longer than I realized.

Jean and Marco just looked at us before looking at each other. “Is there anything we could do to help?” Marco asked.

“I’ll be fine, it was just a bad thought but now that I’ve gotten out of that mindset I’ll be okay,” he said and I couldn’t tell if he was lying or not. “Thank you,” Levi said before giving them a smile. “I’ve been so worried about telling people about my powers because the last few times I’ve told people it hasn’t gone well. So thank you for being understanding.”

“Of course, we’re your friends,” Marco said.

“Yeah, you think a little thing like mind-reading would get rid of us,” Jean laughed, “dream on you’re stuck with us.”

Levi’s smile was enough to lighten the room. Marco and Jean walked over and hugged him and Levi hugged them back. They all looked to me before smiling like idiots.

“Get your ass over here, can’t have a group hug without the rest of the group,” Jean said gesturing for me to join them.

I walked over and they threw their arms around me pulling me into the hug that nearly squeezed the life out of me. It was one of the best hugs of my life and I knew Levi felt the same by the smile on his face. It was nice to see him so happy. I’m just glad he was able to open up to not just me but other people. That's more progress than I could ever ask for.


	45. Frustration

We talked a little while longer. Levi answered some of their questions before we headed back to the class. Levi’s hand grabbed mine as we walked down the hallway. Eld was outside with Mikasa when we turned the corner. As we were walking closer Eld dismissed Mikasa and she headed into the class. He waited for us to approach rather than grabbing another student from the class.

“Feeling better?” He asked Levi who gave him a small smile.

“Much,” he said giving my hand a squeeze.

“Good. If you need to talk, my door is always open,” he said, giving him a kind reminder.

“I’ll keep that in mind for my next breakdown,” Levi said with a joking smile.

Eld just gave him a smile before looking to me, “do you mind if I steal Eren for a moment. Apparently we have a lot to go over now,” he said before smiling at me.

“Sure,” Levi said releasing my hand.

Jean and Marco made their way back into the classroom. Levi started to follow them before leaning over and whispering in my ear, “try not to kill anyone.” He backed up and gave me a nervous smile before walking into the class.

I turned to Eld with an awkward smile knowing he heard what Levi said since Levi really didn’t whisper it all too well.

“Sounds like you’ve tried out your powers already?” Eld asked.

“I was practicing with it last night.”

“How did that go?”

“Um,” my thoughts flashed to the eraser that nearly killed me. “It could have gone better,” I rubbed the back of my neck not really wanting to say more than that.

“Well, tell me about it.” Shit, that’s the opposite of what I wanted him to say. “Were you able to use your powers at all? I know some students have trouble switching the way they look at their powers and sometimes have a hard time adjusting.”

“Well, after a few hours Levi helped me figure out a way to use my powers. I’m really good at making things weightless, but making them heavier that’s what I struggle with.

“Well that makes sense, you thought your power was levitation so you got used to making yourself float and return to normal, however, you only ever made yourself heavier without realizing right? So that could be harder to get a handle on. How did that go last night when you tried it?” Eld asked and I knew then and there I was going to have to tell him how dangerous it was.

“Well, we were out on the field and I was practicing with erasers and-,” I was cut off before I could tell him much of anything.

“Wait, you were out in the open?” He asked a little concerned. He took a deep breath to calm himself before looking back to me. “I can already tell this is going to be bad,” he mumbled, “sorry please continue what you were saying.

I took a deep breath before resuming, “well I was practicing making the erasers weightless and I was using the same logic as I was using with myself so they were shooting into the air so fast we could barely see them.”

“Oh no,” Eld said under his breath before taking a deep breath, “and bringing them back down?” He asked seemingly already knowing the answer.

“Well, the first time I tried it I tried making the eraser heavier rather than just returning the gravity to normal.”

“Oh no,” he whispered with even more concern in his voice.

“Well I was still applying my weight measurements I guess so I accidentally made the eraser super heavy,” I said and I watch Eld’s eyes widen severely.

“Oh god,” he said before bringing his hand up to his face as he pinched the bridge of his nose he took a deep breath. “No one got hurt right?”

“No, the eraser just missed me and Levi, but the ground looked like a bullet had gone through it.”

“Yeah,” Eld said before giving me a nervous smile, “so when you practice your power, it’s extremely recommended that you practice it indoors. Inside the objects have a limit of how far up the can go, so they aren’t shooting into the atmosphere and aren’t falling from the same distance,” he said before pausing for a moment probably trying to figure out how to better describe what he meant since I had a very confused look on my face.

“So the ceiling stops them from going to high up and when you make them heavier they won’t kill someone on their way down. They will still be heavy, but they don’t have time to build up a deadly momentum. So even if you use the wrong amount of weight then it would be extremely less likely to kill someone rather than outdoors where it can build up more momentum on the way down the higher it gets.” He said explaining it so that I would understand better.

“I see, I probably should have thought about that,” I laughed nervously.

“I’m just glad no one got hurt,” Eld smiled and I shrugged.

“I mean, I did get a wicked bruise on my foot,” I said before looking up at Eld who had a worried look on his face. “That was more of just a dumb mistake rather than a deadly one,” I shrugged innocently.

I didn’t need to be a mind reader to know that Eld was seriously stressed out just hearing what I told him. He took a few deep breaths and kept a calm composure but there was so much panic in his eyes that it was practically radiating off of him. God if Levi were out here Eld would probably cause him to have a panic attack.

He ripped out a page in his notebook before crumpling it into a ball and asking if I could show him my progress with both sides of my power. I held the paper ball in my hand, closed my eyes, and focused on the weight of it how it felt to hold it and then I imagined it lighter and when I opened my eyes it was slowly floating up to the ceiling.

“That was very good,” Eld said writing down some notes. “What are your thoughts on this?”

“It takes a little bit of focus, but other than that this is the easy one,” I said before letting it fall back down with its normal weight.

“Alright,” he nodded before jotting that down, “now, for the harder one,” he said and I almost asked him to back up since I was scared that I might accidentally drop it on his foot.

“Okay,” I closed my eyes and focused on the paper. I tried to make it a little heavier but I wasn’t getting anything. It felt the same. Two minutes later I was still standing there like an idiot unable to show him something that I was able to somewhat do last night.

“Sorry,” I said taking a deep breath.

“It’s okay, take as much time as you need,” he said with such a calm comforting voice.

I tried focusing more and I could feel a headache starting without how much I was trying to get this to work. I was clenching my eyes shut. I started to feel frustration rise in me and that's when it happened. The paper ball got heavier, but not in the way I had hoped. It slipped out of my hand and hit the floor with a loud thud. When I looked down at it there was a huge dent in the floor where the paper ball had landed. I damaged the floor. Shit.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean too,” I started to panic. I’ve never done anything like this before. I was in big trouble, damaging school property, was he going to send me to Pixis? “I’m really sorry I-,” he cut me off mid ramble.

“Hey, it’s alright, these things happen,” he smiled and shrugged it off before kneeling down and trying to lift the paper ball. Even with both hands, he was unable to even make it budge. “Wow, that’s heavy,” he laughed before jotting down some more notes and looking back to me. “Try releasing it?” he asked.

“Oh right,” I said before making its return back to normal. I gave him a nod and he scooped it up with one hand. He looked at it with a smile before standing back up.

“Alright, so it looks like we need to work on your power as a whole, but more focusing on making objects heavier,” he said looking through his notes. “We will start with easy objects and tasks before trying more complicated stuff.”

“Sounds good,” I nodded. I couldn’t help but be a little anxious. My eyes never leaving the dent in the floor.

“I assume you're going to keep practicing on your own, as you should, but I do recommend practicing indoors with small rounded objects.” He said and I nodded in agreement. “The last thing we need is you to be impaled by a pencil or something,” he said, trying to play it off as a joke, but there was real concern in his eyes.

“That wouldn’t be good,” I said with an awkward laugh.

He gave me a pat on the shoulder accompanied by a friendly smile, “keep up the good work. You’re doing great for someone who just learned about this power. Don’t stress too much about it,” he said before dismissing me back into the room.

I guess it was obvious at how frustrated I got with myself when my power wasn’t doing what I wanted. I need to work on that frustration and my impatience since my negative emotions have weird effects on my powers.

I sat back down next to Levi and he gave me a smile. “Well, it seems like that went well,” he said sarcastically.

“It was like a dumpster fire.”

“Wanna tell me about it,” he asked taking my hand in his.

“I think I just need more practice than I previously thought,” I sighed.

“Understandable,” he nodded, “what’s up with the anxious feeling though?”

“I broke the floor,” I mumbled, letting out a frustrated sigh.

“Well damn, babe, what did the floor ever do to you?” he asked after I mentally showed him the damage.

“I don’t know, but I’m more worried about what Pixis will do to me.” I sighed and leaned my head up against his shoulder.

“Pixis won’t care. I mean hell Jean scorched a whole wall and all Pixis had to say was don’t harm other students.

“First off it wasn’t the whole wall, and secondly, that was different,” Jean said turning around. “I was aiming at Reiner,” he shrugged, “You’ll be fine. I’ve accidentally damaged school property many times and the only times they ever say anything is when I was aiming at other people,” Jean said trying to comfort me.

“Sorry to eavesdrop,” Marco said elbowing Jean lightly, “but yeah there’s nothing to worry about. The teachers are very understanding and so is Pixis.”

I gave them both a smile, “thanks guys I feel better already.” I said before looking at Jean, “so who else have you thrown fireballs at.”

“It would be a shorter list to ask who he hasn’t thrown fire at,” Marco laughed.

“To be fair,” Jean interjected defensively. "I have only ever purposely intended to hit Reiner and Connie. The rest were warning shots,” he shrugged.

“Okay I understand Reiner, but why Connie?” I asked.

“He challenged me,” Jean shrugged, “he said, ‘I bet you can’t hit me’ so I proved him wrong.”

“You actually got him?” I asked remembering how insanely fast Connie is.

“Yup,” Jean said proudly.

Marco rolled his eyes, “he cheated. Connie was counting down from three and he hit him on two.”

“In my defense, I never agreed to the countdown. I was just told that I would never be able to hit him with my fire. So I hit him,” Jean said proudly.

Marco just rolled his eyes before whispering to me and Levi, “this is the dumbass I fell for,” with an ashamed shake of his head.

“Damn right you did,” Jean said before throwing his arms around Marco.

I just smiled before turning to Levi before thinking, and you’re the man I fell for, but I have no regrets about that.

I watched blush come to Levi’s cheeks as he leaned his head on my shoulder. “You can’t think stuff like that out of nowhere,” he whispered but I could feel the happiness radiating off his body.

Levi was called out of class shortly after with an apologetic look from Eld. After Levi came back the rest of the class seemed to fly by.


	46. Lunch Group

We headed to lunch and made our way to Erwin’s room. Jean and Marco told us they would meet us there before heading to the cafeteria to grab lunch. I poked my head in the room and nodded for Eren to follow when I saw them in the room.

“Hey boys,” Hanji smiled.

“Hey, um, I have something to tell you,” I said rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly.

Hanji seemed to get serious as she gave me a nod for me to proceed.

“Well, um, I might have told Jean and Marco about my powers,” I said and I watched as her face went from deadly serious to a happy grin.

“You did, that’s great,” she said happily.

“How did they take it?” Erwin asked first before deciding whether or not to celebrate.

“They took it well. It went a lot better than I expected,” I shrugged.

“Good, that’s awesome,” Erwin said finally letting out a smile.

“Yeah, they are actually going to eat in here too, I hope that’s okay,” I said awkwardly since I hadn’t asked them if that was okay or not.

“Of course it’s okay, the more the merrier,” Hanji smiled.

There was a knock at the door and I thought it was Jean and Marco but when the door opened Sasha poked her head in.

“Hello,” she said awkwardly seeing the teachers before giving Eren and me a smile. “Sorry, but I saw you guys come in here and I thought I would ask if you wanted to have lunch with us?”

“Oh, well we already told Jean and Marco we were eating in here,” I said quietly. I remember telling her that I would eat lunch with them eventually and felt bad for forgetting. With everything that’s been happening it just kinda slipped my mind.

“Oh, that’s okay,” she said and before she could leave I just blurted out the first thing to come to mind.

“Well do you guys want to eat lunch in here with us?” I asked before mentally facepalming. I mean I don’t regret my offer, but the way I said that sounded so awkward.

“If that’s okay with you I’d love to,” she smiled, “I’ll go ask the others if they want to come,” she said happily before vanishing.

I just looked to Eren and then to the teachers. They all knew what I was thinking. “You just doomed yourself,” Hanji said laughing.

“You’re in way over your head,” Erwin added.

“This will be both fun and horrifying,” Eren said walking up and throwing his arm around me.

“I fucked up,” I mumbled to him.

“Ya think,” Eren teased.

“Looks like I’ll be wearing my headphones all of lunch. That is way too many people who will be in close proximity to me no way I’ll be able to block everything out. Especially since I still have a headache from yesterday.”

“Well that’s your dumbass fault,” Hanji said raising an eyebrow while Erwin turned the other way.

“Yeah yeah I know.”

“Well, we should probably tell Jean and Marco not to say anything about your powers to the others, right?” Eren suggested.

“Yeah, that’s probably the best option. I don’t know how I feel about telling everyone just yet.”

The door opened and Jean and Marco walked in and came over sitting next to us. I quickly explained that Sasha and a few other people would join us and I asked them not to say anything about my powers.

“No problem,” Jean said giving me a thumbs up.

“Yeah, don’t worry we won’t say anything,” Marco said giving me a sweet smile.

“Thanks, guys,” I said popping in my headphones before watching the door open.

It seems everyone wanted to come eat lunch with us. Sasha, Connie, Mikasa, and Armin all came in and sat in the seats around us. They all greeted us as they sat down.

“So Levi,” Sasha said leaning in closer to me, “what made you finally decide to open up to actually having friends?” She asked and I felt myself freeze up. The way she worded that made me sound like an asshole, I mean I am one, but damn.

“Sasha thats mean,” Connie nudged her arm.

“Hey, I’m just saying,” she shrugged, “do you know how long I’ve been trying to become friends with him only to shrug me off or walk away. Now all of a sudden he’s ready to be buddy-buddy with everyone.” She said to Connie before looking to me “Hey, don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I’m glad you’re opening up I’m just genuinely curious what changed?”

“Well,” I rubbed the back of my neck before letting my eyes drift over to Eren who was walking to Mikasa and Armin. “Someone was super stubborn and annoying to the point where I couldn’t ignore them and they made me realize how stupid I was being,” I said letting a smile slip onto my face as he turned to look at me.

“Oh,” she said before smiling, “so the power of boners?” Sasha asked with a devious smile.

“Sasha!” Connie looked at her horrified. “Sorry, she’s never been one to bite her tongue,” he said apologizing for her.

“What, you saw the way he was looking at him, I mean, that’s basically what happened right?” She asked me with a playful smile.

I just laughed for a moment, “I guess you could say that,” I said bring my hand up covering my eyes as I laughed off her statement.

“Wait you two are dating?” we heard Armin said and we all turned our attention to him.

“Um, yeah,” Eren said with a smile.

“Since when,” Armin asked looking at both me and Eren for answers.

“For a while now. Armin you’re so slow,” Mikasa laughed at him. “Didn’t you see them holding hands in class.”

“I thought they were just really good friends,” Armin said quietly.

Eren bursted into laughed and I just shook my head. Well, at least someone finally told him.

“Wait does that mean those two are dating too?” Armin asked pointing at Jean and Marco. “They were also holding hands in class.”

“Really,” Sasha laughed, “you are just now noticing that as well,” she laughed. “Hell, everyone’s known about them for ages.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of hard not to since you guys are really loud,” Eren added and I watched Jean and Marco’s faces go red.

“That's what that was?” Connie asked widening his eyes. “I mean I thought it was Berthold and Reiner,” he mumbled.

“Sometimes it is,” Sasha shrugged jumping in the conversation. “Walking past there dorm I’ve heard them a few times.”

“Wait they are dating too?”Armin asked and we all just laughed.

“Oh man you really are oblivious,” Sasha laughed.

“And you guys don’t know the half of it,” Mikasa said rolling her eyes, “Ymir and Christa are right across from me and I swear they can be so loud sometimes,” she said with a laugh.

“How many people are dating,” Armin asked his eyes widened as his innocence slowly got ripped away bit by bit.

“Pretty much,” Sasha laughed, “I think we got all the couples in class now though.”

“Actually you missed one,” Mikasa spoke up, “though I’m sure none of you know this but Annie and I are dating,” she said and I saw Eren turn his head around so fast.

“Wait really?” Eren said quickly, “You never told me you were a lesbian,” he smiled.

“Bisexual actually,” she shrugged, “and you never told me you were gay.”

Eren just paused for a minute before nodding, “touché,” he laughed.

The door opened and I felt my attention pulled away from the group who was too distracted to notice another person's presence. Ymir poked her head in the room before stopping and turning around to leave. I stood up and quickly made my way out of the class before catching up to her in the hallway.

“Hey wait up,” I said before pulling out my headphones.

“Sorry,” she said not even turning around. “I thought now would be a good time, but you’re busy.”

“It’s fine, I’m not busy,” I said desperately. I needed to hear what she had to say.

“I'm sorry, but they left. I can try again tomorrow, but today they don’t seem to want to talk anymore,” she said. Her voice sounded so sad, I could tell she was frustrated with herself and she just kept beating herself up in her head.

I keep giving him hope just to rip it away. I’m a horrible person, why can’t I get them to talk to him. This is my fault. I should have said anything until I knew I was sure they wanted to talk.

“Hey, it’s okay,” I said calmly. I didn’t want her blaming herself for something she couldn’t control… man, do I sound like a real hypocrite. “I’ll wait as long as it takes, don’t stress yourself out over it okay,” I said giving her a smile.

She nodded and took a deep breath, “I’m sorry, I hope they are more cooperative tomorrow,” she smiled. “I haven't even got their names out of them.

“They always were stubborn,” I mumbled giving myself false hope of who it might be. She gave me a hug before heading back to the cafeteria. I turned to head back to class when I saw Eren standing behind me.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but when you left so quickly I got worried,” he said awkwardly.

“It’s okay,” I said walking over to him and he wrapped his arms around me. I really needed a hug and I think he knew that the second I walked over to him. I just wrapped my arms around him in return before placing a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you, babe,” I whispered in his ear before taking a deep breath and collecting myself.

“We should head back to the class. The others are probably wondering where we ran off to,” I suggested and Eren just smiled.

“Actually I’m like 90 percent sure Sasha and Jean think we ran off to fuck in the bathroom or something,” he laughed.

“How unsanitary,” I shook my head, “let’s go prove them wrong.”

I put my headphones back in before we headed back to the room. Sure enough, Jean and Sasha looked shocked to see us back so soon.

“That was quick,” Jean said with a look of shock in his eyes.

“We didn’t do anything,” Eren rolled his eyes.

“Hey it’s okay to be embarrassed, but next time I’d wait a little longer before coming back,” he teased.

“Shut the hell up,” Eren laughed it off as he rolled his eyes at him.

I just sat back down and laughed with them. I couldn’t get back into the positive mindset as quickly as I would have liked to so for a little while it was a fake it til you make it attitude. My thoughts just kept jumping back to Ymir and the spirits.

I just kept pushing my thoughts away but they kept coming back stronger and stronger until lunch was over I faked a smile and a laugh. I could tell Eren knew something was up, but I’m pretty sure he heard me talking to Ymir and guessed it had to do with that. I knew he wasn’t going to push me to talk about it which made me a little relieved, but also a little sad. I wanted to tell him what I was feeling, but I know I won’t be able to tell him without breaking down again.

Could it really be them or am I just giving myself false hope? I mean after all these years what are the chances? Maybe it is them and they are purposely tormenting me. I mean it’s my fault they are dead in the first place.


	47. Keeping It Together

We headed to our next class and I couldn't help but notice how quiet Levi was for the rest of lunch. I'm sure no one else really noticed since he put on a fake smile and laughed at all of their nonsense. I could tell something was wrong. He looked more tense than usual and he kept out of the conversation for the most part. He isolated himself mentally while being physically responsive to everyone.

I know something is mentally eating away at him, but I don't want to overstep my boundaries and make him talk about anything. I know he's trying his best to open up to me and others, however, I know first hand that it's definitely going to take time for him to come to me about certain things.

As we walked to class hands intertwined I could tell even as I walked next to him he was somewhere else. His eyes never leaving the floor, they looked glossed over almost as if he was in a daze. I knew what that look meant, he's just going through the motions, he's breaking in his mind but keeping up a facade.

I looked at the time hoping this class would go by quickly for his sake. The last thing he needed was to sit in that class for hours as his mind ate away at him until there was nothing left.

We sat down in our seats and as we waited for Auruo to come in and greet us. I gave his hand a light squeeze trying to break him out of his dazed. He looked right through me with his glossed over eyes and gave me a blank smile. I just scooted closer to him until our shoulders were touching and prayed that the class went by quickly.

Auruo came in and took roll before jumping straight into the lesson. He was going oversize manipulation. When he first announced it there were a few immature giggles, mostly from Jean, Connie, and Reiner.

"So some people can manipulate the size of their bodies, whether it's just a portion of their bodies like there hands, or feet others can manipulate the size of their whole body," he started and I tuned him out in favor of keeping an eye on Levi.

Levi was staring at his desk with his glossed over eyes. He was eerily still and his hand despite holding mine the whole time was cold to the touch. Where our shoulders touched there was no warmth between us. It was like leaning up against a freezer. I took a deep breath and gave his hand a tighter squeeze. This time he looked at me with sad eyes and a sad smile before closing his eyes for a minute and going back to a blank stare.

He was definitely fighting a war in his head. I just wish he'd let me help him through it. "Sorry," I heard him whisper so quietly I almost missed it.

I looked back to him and I couldn't tell at first if he was talking to me or if he even said anything at all. "I'm just trying to keep it together," he whispered out a minute later and I realized he was talking to me and that he was the one talking.

"It's okay babe, I'm right here if you need help through it," I said, giving his hand a light squeeze.

He just leaned his head on my shoulder before whispering out, "thank you."

I half paid attention to what Auruo was saying and half just listened to Levi's breathing. Every once in a while it would stop for a moment like he was trying to fight something back, or it would hitch as something slipped through.

Auruo had looked at us for a moment and when our eyes locked I expected him to shake his head at us or tell us to stop, but instead, when he saw Levi's head on my shoulder he walked over to his desk and started to write something down as he kept teaching. He walked around the classroom before dropping the messily scribbled note on our desk before continuing his rounds around the class. He never stopped teaching and never drew attention to us.

I looked down at the note and it said that if we needed to leave the room we could and that if something was wrong Hanji could help. I just gave him a thankful nod before giving a slight thumbs up so he could see I got the message. He gave the slightest nod before going about the lesson like nothing happened. No one else in the class seemed to notice the silent conversation and it makes me wonder how good the teachers are at these silent conversations.

When Auruo finished talking he started calling students out into the hall. I kept waiting for my or Levi's name to be called, but hours passed. My name was finally called when Levi and I were the only two students left. I let go of his hand and he sat there staring at the desk with glossed over eyes. I had to tell myself that once Levi and I finished up class would be over.

"Sorry, I waited as long as I could," Auruo said as I closed the door.

"It's okay I knew it was coming eventually."

"You were actually supposed to go first," Auruo said with an awkward shrug. "We had a teachers meeting this morning to talk about your powers and what to practice with you so we were going to have you go first so we remembered better, but Levi seemed to need you and I think that took precedent."

"Yeah, it's been a rough day."

"Is he okay?"

"I don't quite know yet," I sighed, "he's still not very open with his emotions and his past so I'm in the dark here."

"Makes sense," Auruo sighed. "I would ask him myself, but I don't think it's my place."

"You and me both," I mumbled.

"Aren't you dating? If so it kinda is your place," He laughed awkwardly.

"I don't want to overstep my boundaries. Our relationship is still very new and he's trying to open up to me but I know it's a slow process."

"That's fair," Auruo said before letting out a sigh. "Well, as much as I would like to stand here and gossip the whole time I think we should actually go over your power."

"No one says we can't multitask," I joked and he nodded.

"Touche," he said before handing me a water bottle cap. "I thought this might work better than a paper ball," he laughed.

"Eld told you?"

"And Petra too," Auruo laughed.

"Great," I said sarcastically before focusing on the cap making it float to the ceiling. "So you think I should talk to him?" I asked.

"I think you should at least sit down with him and try to calmly get him to open up about what he's feeling even if you don't know why he's feeling it," Auruo said before looking up at the eraser and writing down some notes.

"I would talk to him myself, but I feel too awkward to really talk to him about much of anything," Auruo said, "release it."

"Why is that?" I asked letting the eraser fall back into my hand.

"Well, we didn't start off on good terms, and I'm to blame for that," Auruo said writing down a few more notes.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, my first ever class with him didn't go so well. I know it's my fault since I was having a bad day and I didn't get the memo about his powers. I practically yelled at him to take his headphones out. He refused and it got so bad I kicked him out of class and sent him to the principal's office. He came back to class with Pixis who informed me of Levi's powers and why he gets to keep his headphones in. I've never felt so bad in my life, I still feel guilty every time I talk to him. I've apologized over a dozen times and it still doesn't feel like enough," Auruo let out a little sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I don't think he's mad about that still, Levi doesn't seem to be one to keep grudges," I said, knowing how easily he became friends with Jean and Armin despite them saying and thinking such mean things.

"Still, do you ever just think back on a situation and tell yourself if I could just go back and do it over everything would be different" Auruo side before looking at the bottle cap, "make it heavier, easily this time," he clarified.

"All the time," I mumbled back taking a deep breath trying to clear the negative thoughts that threatened to pop up. I focused all my attention on the cap and felt as my hand got heavier. It was a little heavier than I was trying for and I ended up having to bring up my second hand to stop it from falling out of my hand. I took a deep breath and focused and surprisingly enough I was able to hold it in my hands this time. It took two hands, but that's still better than denting the floor.

"Good," Auruo watched me before reaching out his hands. I carefully slid it into his hands he held it with both his hands before nodding. "Okay, release it," he said and I took a deep breath and imagined it going back to its normal weight.

I watched as he instantly removed his other hand and he held it with two fingers. "Very good, that was excellent," he said before jotting down a few more notes.

He gave me a pat on my back before wishing me luck and then dismissed me into the class before calling Levi out into the hall. I looked at the time and let out a sigh of relief class was almost over. When Levi came back in the room Auruo addressed the class before dismissing us. I took Levi's hand in mine and we quietly walked back to our dorm. When I closed the door behind us I wasn't expecting Levi to speak first, but he sat down on his bed before patting next to him.

"We need to talk," he said nervously. I could tell by the way he was avoiding my eyes that he wasn't comfortable in what he was about to say which made me think he was going to open up a little about how he was feeling. He pulled his headphones out as I took a seat on the bed next to him.


	48. Opening Up or Shutting Down

I was a little nervous about what he had to say but I just stayed quiet waiting for him to say what was on his mind. I watched as his mouth opened a closed a few times. No words came out and he just sat there looking more and more frustrated with himself. He took a deep breath and laid his hand over mine before finally speaking. "I'm not good at this," he mumbled before closing his eyes. He took another minute before giving my hand a light squeeze and whispering out, "I'm having a really bad day."

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked looking at his eyes that were staring at the ground still.

He just gave me a slight nod before continuing, "but I don't know how. I don't know what to say or how to describe why I'm feeling how I am without saying something that will cause me to shut down completely again."

"Okay, that's okay, we will figure it out together," I said trying to think of how we could go about this. "We can take it step by step if we start heading into a topic that's too deep then we can switch it."

"Okay," he nodded.

"When did this start I know you were feeling bad in class and then again at lunch did it start before first period or?" I asked letting my voice drift off so he could answer. I scooted closer to him. He laid his head on my shoulder and closed his eyes.

"Ever since I talked to Ymir the first time I've been feeling this way, but today in class she told me there were two spirits attached to me. She still doesn't know their names, but I think I do. The emotions I feel when I'm around them gives it away."

I took a moment to think about my next question. Asking who the spirits are might trigger something, "what emotions do you feel when you're around them?" I asked hoping that wouldn't be as bad.

"Guilt." His muscles tensed up. He picked his head back up and I looked at his face. His eyes were shut tightly and I felt his hand pull away from mine as they clenched into fists.

"Why do you feel guilty?" my question seemed to fall on deaf ears.

"I know who they are because all I feel when they are around me is my guilt, my shame. I feel them watching me, I feel their hatred towards me. How could I not, they have every right to hate me." I started to panic this isn't Levi, not really, he's spiraling. "Hell, I hate me for what I did to them. I'm the reason their dead. I'm the one who killed them."

I panicked and threw my arms around him, pulling him close to me. His eyes opened wide for a moment before closing shit again. His arms wrapped around me clinging to my shirt. I felt tears flood my eyes as I could feel his breathing hitch. He was crying. No, he wasn't just crying he was full-on sobbing. I looked around the room and objects were going haywire. Books were flying around and the pillows from the bed were pinned harshly to the ceiling.

I just held him close. I ran my fingers through his hair as I whispered calming words in his ear placing a kiss on the top of his head. He was shaking. I've never seen him like this and as much as I wanted him to open up, I almost felt guilty for making him do so. It seems everything he's been holding back for years came out all at once. I just held him close as he cried in my arms.

In the back of my mind, I tried to figure out what he meant when he said he killed them. I doubt he actually killed them like physically killed them. I remember him telling me earlier when we were talking about Thomas he said there were a few deaths he was responsible for. Is that what he thinks? That these deaths are all his fault? If that's what he thinks then there must be a huge weight on his shoulders, no wonder he's been struggling so much. I knew one thing was certain. This conversation was over, at least for now.

After several minutes went by I felt the tears clear from my eyes and I looked down at Levi who had gradually stopped trembling. He was quietly staring down at the floor and his arms that had clung so tightly to me had loosened their grips.

"I'm sorry you had to see all that," he hoarsely mumbled out.

"Don't apologize," I said before placing a kiss on his head, "it's okay to cry."

"I made you cry," he said, glancing up at my tear-stained face.

"So, I've made you cry before too," I shrugged, "it's not a bad thing, I get to know how you're feeling when you need help."

"That's a lame excuse," he rolled his eyes giving me a little smile that looks like it took most of his energy to make.

"Maybe it is, but hey it works," I smiled back. "Also you look gorgeous by the way," I said running my fingers through his hair.

"Shut the fuck up," he laughed wiping away the rest of his tears and covering his face trying to hide his laughter.

"I'm serious, you look absolutely breathtaking, no matter how shitty you look I still think you look good," I teased.

"You're an ass," he said closing his eyes and leaning his head up against my shoulder and letting out a long frustrated sigh. "I'm sorry, I really tried," he said before shaking his head, "every time I try and open up I always end up shutting down instead."

It's okay, I got to know a little more about the situation," I said before trying to get a smile back on his face, "at least you didn't throw a book at me this time," I said and I watched as his eyes opened as he side-eyed me.

"There's still time," he said with a threatening tone before letting the suppressed smile slip onto his face.

"Um," I said trying to think of another topic since the one we were on was clearly to stressful, "so how's your day going?" I asked sarcastically not knowing what else to say.

"Fucking fantastic how about yours," he said just as sarcastically.

I just laughed before pulling him closer, "better now."

He just nodded, "I agree," he said before taking a deep calming breath. "Well, I know what we can talk about," he said with an awkward smile.

"Oh yeah, what's that?" I asked.

"Well, we could talk about those thoughts you were having of us earlier," he said making dead eye contact with me. I closed my eyes to avoid his gaze.

"Or we could you know, not do that," I said awkwardly afraid to even open my eyes. I know he said he didn't mind me having those thoughts, but at the same time, I still shouldn't have thought about them so freely like that. I've been so good about filtering those thoughts out until I was alone. Wait, shit, shut up Eren. I opened my eyes to see Levi smirking at me.

"So you have those thoughts when you're alone. What exactly do you do when you're alone hm?" He asked and I felt as if he was baiting me. I stayed quiet but my mind wasn't as cooperative. A few thoughts of the other day slipped into my mind before I could fully rein all my thoughts in.

"Oh, in the shower, that's where you do it?" He said just to let me know that he saw those thoughts.

I felt my cheeks go red. "This isn't fair I can't read your mind," I blurted out.

"I don't know if you'd want to at the moment," he said looking me up and down with a devious smirk. "Then again I could show you exactly what I'm thinking."

I felt chills run down my body. I'm in trouble. Is Levi a top or bottom. Is he planning on fucking me because I am so down with that.

"I'm a switch, and if you're okay with it then yes."

I'm a switch too. I thought before realizing he just agreed to fuck me. "Holy shit," my thoughts ran a little wild and I kept trying to rein them in but to no avail.

"That's hot," Levi said with a devious smile and I just gave him a blank stare. "You must think you're hilarious don't you?" I asked remembering how when he popped a boner earlier that's the exact thing I said.

"I don't think I'm hilarious, I know I'm hilarious," he smiled before pushing me down on his bed.


	49. Pain and Pleasure

He leaned over and pressed his lips against mine. I felt his hand on my hip while his other one caressed my cheek. I melted in his arms as I felt my own arms move on their own. One of my arms wrapped around him while the other one wrapped around his head pulling him deeper into the kiss.

Levi pulled away from the kiss laughing and before I could ask him what was so funny he blurted out, “Your thoughts sure are something.”

My cheeks went red and I gave him a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I left them unfiltered for a minute.”

“No don’t apologize, I like what I saw,” Levi smiled.

“Oh,” I said with a big grin spreading across my face. “Well, there’s more where that came from.”

“Bring it. I need the ideas,” Levi said awkwardly.

“Wait,” I said before thinking about everything. He’s been isolating himself for years. He hasn’t gotten close to anyone. Is he a virgin?

“Shut up,” Levi said his face going red as he avoided my eyes. “I’ve just never found the need to do this kinda thing with someone before now.”

“Awe, I feel special,” I said giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“Are you, um, a virgin?” Levi asked before clearing his throat, “you don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to its really none of my business,”

“I tell you anyways because I can tell you’re curious,” I said propping myself up on my elbows. “I’m not a virgin, but I mean my first time was a trainwreck.”

“Well, now I’m really curious?” Levi said, “I can use it as a what not to do,” he said giving me an excuse to hear what happened.

“Well, first off booze was involved.”

“Oh yeah that’s never a good sign,” Levi smiled.

“Yeah, I was at a party that Mikasa dragged me to. I pretty much just stayed in the corner half the night drinking whatever drink Mikasa and Armin handed me. Before I knew it, someone was next to me in the corner avoiding the crowd too. We started talking and eventually snuck off to a bathroom. There was our second mistake,” I laughed as Levi made a face of disgust at the mention of us doing something like that in a bathroom. I could hear his thoughts despite not being a mind reader How unsanitary, he was thinking.

“Yeah, so on top of being drunk we were in an awkward situation as well as trying to do everything in awkward positions. We didn’t have lube we didn’t prep anything and well, he put it in and a minute later we both decided it wasn’t going to work.”

“Sounds painful,” Levi winced.

“Very much so,” I laughed, “well now we know what not to do,” I laughed nervously.

“Yeah, don’t worry, I may be a virgin, but I at least know what to do enough to not fuck up that badly. Also, we’re in a bed and completely sober so there are two mistakes already avoided,” Levi said proudly.

“Yup,” I laughed before pulling him into a kiss, “not to mention I’m actually doing this with someone I know and like. That definitely makes things a hell of a lot better.”

Levi smiled and pulled me close “I’d hope so,” he said before placing a kiss on my lips. His hands slid down my chest until they reached the end of my shirt. He slipped his fingers underneath before breaking the kiss to carefully pull it over my head. I gave him a nervous smile. I couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed about being shirtless in front of him, but he just smiled at me before running his hands over my chest.

“Your turn,” I said before lifting his shirt over his head. When I saw his chest I couldn’t help but stare a little. I could feel his embarrassment rush through me. His embarrassment wasn’t like mine he had a lot more insecurities rushing through him from what I felt. He had shown me the scar on his abdomen before, but I never knew just how many scars he had. His chest was littered with little ones the biggest was the one he showed me, but there were a few other large ones.

“Sorry,” he said before reaching for his shirt, “I should probably leave it on.”

I just wrapped my arms around him and shook my head. “No,” I said quickly before placing a kiss on his lips. “You’re gorgeous,” I whispered in his ear before kissing at his neck.

“Doesn’t it bother you?” he asked and I could tell he was really insecure about his scars.

“Not one bit.”

I felt the relief wash over him and his arms wrapped around me pulling me closer to him. He pulled me into a kiss and we laid back down on the bed. His knee was between my legs and I felt as my pants started to get tighter.

“We should take those off,” he smirked and I rolled my eyes at him. He slid them off my legs and I watched his eyes look at the bulge in my boxers before flashing back up to my eyes with a devious smile.

“Like what you see?” I asked with my own little grin.

“Hell yeah,” he said before pressing his lips to mine. While he made the kiss more passionate I felt one of his hands brush up against me. It caught me off guard and I had to hold back my voice.

“Oh, don’t hold anything back,” he whispered in my ear.

Oh shit. What did I get into? I thought before shaking my head, “hey why do you get to keep your pants on?” I asked. “

“Someone’s eager,” he said and I blushed a little.

“No, I just don’t want to be the only one naked,” I said with a little laugh.

He slid his pants down and my eyes locked onto the bulge in his boxers. Well shit. This is going to hurt like a bitch. My mind blurted out before I could reel in my thoughts.

“If you want to stop we could-,” I cut him off.

“No, I didn’t say that,” I quickly said making sure he knew I was still okay with everything that was about to happen.

“Alright, well let me know if you change your mind,” he said before reaching into his drawer. He stopped for a second before mumbling, “shit.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I have lube but I don’t have a condom,” he let out a defeated sigh.

“Oh, I have some,” I said before getting up and pulling out a new box from one of y drawers.

“When did you-?” Levi cut himself off, “It doesn’t matter,” he said before giving me a smile.

“When we all went shopping I snuck off while you were all in the bookstore, I went to the store next door for a minute and bought a box just in case.” I said with a shrug, “I figured we might need them eventually.”

“I’m so glad you plan ahead,” he said as I returned to his bed. We set the box aside since we wouldn’t need them for a few minutes.

Levi pulled me into a passionate kiss as one of his hands went lower. I tangled my fingers in his hair and my other hand held desperately onto his arm I kept trying to hold in my moans knowing he wanted to hear me.

“Be as stubborn as you want, but I know you want me to make you moan my name. Remember that’s what you were thinking earlier.” He whispered in my ear my eyes widened. Shit, that’s right, he already knew everything.

He started kissing at my neck and I moved my head to the side for him. He gave my neck a little nip and I felt a shiver run down my spine. Oh, you really liked that,” he stopped for a minute before doing it again.

“You don’t know that,” I said as another chill ran down my spine.

“You do realize I’m feeling pretty much everything you’re feeling right,” he said before I paused. Oh shit. I really can’t hide anything from him.

“Damn right,” he laughed, “so that means you can’t fake shit I’ll know exactly what you like and what you hate,” he smiled deviously.

“Well then,” I said feeling both panicked and relieved. At least he will know what’s good and what’s bad, but at the same time, I don’t want to hurt his feelings if it’s not great since this is our first time it’s.

“Hey no worries,” Levi leaned in placing a kiss on my lips, “it’s hard to hurt my feelings.”

“Alright, well, if you’re ready then I’m ready,” I said awkwardly.

“I’m ready, are you sure you want to do this?”

“God you’re making it sound like a drug deal or something,” I rolled my eyes.

“Consent is important dipshit,” he shook his head.

“Well, I fully consent to you wanting to fuck my brains out,” I said and his face went crimson red.

He laid his head on my shoulder trying to hold back his laughter before regaining his composure.

I pulled him into a kiss and he took the time to slide my boxers down. The cold air made me shiver and I saw Levi smirk. He grabbed the bottle of lube and squeezed some into his hand.

I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth this was going to be cold. I felt his fingers near my entrance and man I was right, it was cold. “Sorry,” he said he must have felt a chill run down my spine as he touched me.

I just nodded through gritted teeth as I felt his finger inside me. He slipped a second finger in and I gripped at his arms and buried my face into the crook of his neck. “You okay?”

I just nodded biting my lip harder to keep from moaning out as he slid his fingers deeper.

“You’re really fucking tight,” he said placing a kiss on my cheek, “relax a little,”

“It’s kinda hard to relax with someone's fingers in your ass,” I rolled my eyes.

“Fair point,” he said trying to stifle his laughter.

He added a third finger and I couldn’t hold back anymore I let a moan slip out and he seemed very pleased with himself. “There you go,” Levi said teasingly.

“Shut u-ah!” I was cut off by my own moan. Levi had slid his fingers in deeper catching me off guard.

“You like that baby,” he cooed in my ear.

I wanted to speak but couldn’t form any words so I just nodded. “Ready,” I mumbled out.

“Okay,” he said before slowly sliding his fingers out. I let out a moan and a little pout at the sudden emptiness.

He slid down his boxers painfully slow I bit my lip as I looked at his size. Well shit. Do you think three fingers was enough? I mentally asked and he just laughed.

He slid on a condom and I felt like he was moving in slow motion. The second he put the condom on I straddled his lap to try and quicken the pace a little.

“You’re very eager,” he said with a teasing tone and a smirk to match.

“You asshole,” my eyes widened. “You’re doing this on purpose.”

“Took you long enough to realize,” he said with a cocky grin before finally positioning himself.

“You’re an ass,” I shook my head.

“I know,” he laughed, “now are you ready?” He asked almost as if I was the one taking things at a snail's pace.

“I’ve been ready, you’re the one dragging your- Ah!” I was cut off when he pulled my hips down lowering me onto his member.

I bit my lip to keep from moaning out. “Do you want me to move?” He asked before placing a kiss on my neck.

“Please,” I managed to whimper before melting fully into his embrace. His hands were on my hips and his lips were on my neck. He started to slowly move and I felt my whole body quiver with pleasure. “Levi- ah- faster,” I said grinding my hips down on him to match his rhythm.

“As you wish,” he said before giving my neck a little nip. I bit my lip so hard to stop from screaming his name out.

He sped up his pace. I felt my mind begin to blur and I wasn’t able to hold back my voice any longer. He laid me down on the bed and wrapped his arm under my leg. I wrapped my arms around him and threw my head back. He was right he was making me call his name out.

I could feel not only my pleasure but also Levi’s. Such strong emotions were coming from both of us to the point where we could feel what the other was feeling thanks to Levi’s power.

It made everything easier. We knew what felt good for each other. I could tell Levi liked it when I ran my nails down his back because every time I did it I felt a heavier wave of excitement flow through the both of us.

“Close,” I managed to finally blurt out. It was the only coherent word I could say besides Levi or fuck.

“Not so fast,” Levi said and I felt his hand on my member.

Oh great, my boyfriends the literal devil. I thought as I bit my lip harder.

“So dramatic,” he laughed before nipping at my neck again. I felt my whole body shaking at this point begging for a release.

“Just one more minute,” he said and I could tell he was starting to get close too.

“Please,” I begged him. “Levi please let me come,” I said and I felt his hand release me.

I swear for a moment my eyes crossed as my whole body felt the pleasure of my orgasm. Levi laid down next to me feeling the same sort of pleasure from his own orgasm. I rolled over and laid my head on his chest before locking eyes with him.

“You’re the worst,” I said with the biggest smile.

“I know,” he smiled back before placing a kiss on my lips.

We cleaned everything up before throwing on some fresh pairs of sweats. We headed over to my bed and laid down. The cool bedding was a nice contrast from the sweat-filled activity that we just did. We cuddled up next to each other and I felt my eyes close almost instantly. After the long day we had, and then having sex I was exhausted and it would seem Levi agreed since he was already peacefully sleeping. I just let myself slip into sweet unconsciousness.


	50. Hauntings

I practically jumped awake sitting up so fast I made myself a little lightheaded. I looked around the dark room and tried to make out what every little shadow was. I looked down and saw Eren still sound asleep next to me. I carefully scooted out of his arms hoping that he wouldn’t wake up.

“Is someone there?” I asked quietly looking around the dark room once more. I didn’t even bother trying the light switch. I could tell even if I did, I wouldn’t be able to see anything. Hell even verbally asking a question would be left without an answer.

I could feel someone staring at me, no, not just someone, it was them. I’ve felt this feeling several times before, but thanks to Ymir I finally know what it is. It’s not just my imagination, but they are really here watching my every move. I sat on the edge of the bed and took a deep breath. I kept my eyes towards the floor as I started talking.

“Is that you? Are you guys here?” That’s a stupid question I know they are here. I felt tears come to my eyes at the thought of them being here with me. “If it is I’m sorry. I’m sorry about the accident, I’m sorry about what happened after, I’m sorry about everything. I’m sorry I didn’t save you, either of you.” I could almost feel the hostility in the room. Their hatred towards me bouncing off the walls. It dug deep into me ripping at my heart.

“I’m so sorry, I know I broke my promise to you guys. I know I promised I wouldn’t ever get close to others again, but I couldn’t keep my promise. I know that you guys hate me, it’s okay you have every right too. Honestly, I hate me too.”

The tears started stinging in my eyes and I could no longer hold them back. “I'm so so sorry. I deserve your hatred I mean it’s my fault you died and yet I’m still here, and you’re gone. It’s not fair, none of it’s fair. If I just died like I was supposed to then maybe at least we would be together without all this pain.”

I heard a loud thump and saw one of the drawers from my side of the room had flew open. I walked over and saw which drawer it was. I didn’t need to even look inside to know what they were trying to direct me too. I picked up the old photograph and knew I was right. They were here. I picked up the photograph in the breaking picture frame and just closed my eyes.

“I’m so sorry, I’m sorry Isabel I’m sorry Farlan.” I hugged the picture to my chest and couldn’t help but break down. My legs wobbled under me and I felt them give as I fell to my knees. “I’m sorry.”

I felt the room clear and I knew they had gone. They must have gotten tired of my empty apologies. It didn’t matter how sorry I was, they are still dead and it’s my fault.

I felt someone’s arms wrap around me and felt my breath catch in my throat. I thought it was my imagination for a second until I turned around. Eren was the one hugging me. I just turned around in his arms burying my face in his chest. The whole time I cried he never asked a single question he just held me close and comforted me.

When I calmed down enough so that I wasn’t sobbing my eyes out Eren helped me to my feet and walked me back over to the bed. He pulled me into his lap and just held me.

“I’m sorry,” I managed to whisper out.

“Don’t apologize, it’s okay baby, it’s okay to cry,” he said rubbing my back and running his fingers through my hair. He placed a kiss on the top of my head and I just leaned into him.

I calmed myself down and actually looked up at him. I could see the tears in his eyes and I couldn’t help but feel guilty. I’m making him cry again.

“Babe I’m okay,” Eren said probably feeling my guilt. Shit, I need to get control of my emotions.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to make you cry.”

“I know, it’s okay,” he said giving me a smile.

I wiped my eyes clear of the tears and checked the time. “We should probably head out to the field,” I said trying to forget everything that just happened.

“Okay, if that’s what you want to do,” Eren said getting up and getting everything ready as I headed into the bathroom to wash the tears off my face.

I just stared in the mirror and saw a mess staring back at me. Everything was still blurry from the tears that refused to clear from my eyes, but I could still see how much of a mess I truly was. When I looked into the person I hated most stared back at me and It took everything I had not to punch the mirror.

I wanted nothing more than to get rid of the emotions get rid of the guilt, the pain, the memories. When I look in the mirror, I see the man who killed my best friends, my family, I see a monster who needs to die.

“Babe, you okay?” I heard Eren say through the door as he gave a light knock.

“Yeah,” I forced out a lie before taking a deep breath and opening the door.

Eren was standing there with a concerned expression on his face. I looked at him and his thoughts came flooding into my head. He knew what I was thinking in there, not exactly what I was thinking, but he could feel the emotions I felt. Were my emotions that strong that they actually affected him through the door. That would be a first.

“You sure you’re okay?” He asked taking my hand in his.

“Yeah, I’m sorry I had a dark thought there, but I’m okay now,” I said giving him a smile that took all my energy to push forward. I didn’t fake the smile, but it definitely wasn’t an easy smile to make.

I got some stuff ready and we walked to the field in a silence that screamed at me. I wanted nothing more than to tell him what happened why I’m feeling this way, but I don’t want to break down again, I don’t want to make him cry again because of my own emotions.

“Eren about earlier,” I said biting my lip unsure of what to say. I wanted to tell him, I needed to tell him. I knew he was curious but I also know he will never ask me about it. I felt like I had to tell him. I mean I put him through hell with my emotions and he doesn’t even know why. I started to force my mind to think of the situation I had to think of it I had to explain.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Eren said before turning and placing his hand on my cheek. “You don’t have to force yourself to tell me what’s going on. Tell me when you’re ready,” he said giving me a smile that snapped me back to reality. I realized I was panicking. I was on the verge of a panic attack and didn’t even know it. I went to open my mouth to speak but nothing came out. I just gave him a nod.

He gave me a smile and placed a quick kiss on my lips. “I’ll be here by your side to help you through anything. Whether I know what’s wrong or not,” he said giving me another smile.

“Thank you,” I said letting a relieved smile fall over my face. “How did I get so lucky?” I whispered as we started walking again.

“Because I’m a persistent bastard,” he laughed.

“You’re not wrong.” I laughed before giving his hand a squeeze, “well, thank you for being so annoyingly persistent.”

“Anytime,” he smiled before placing a kiss on my cheek.

We laid the blanket down on the field and I watched Eren pull out some erasers. “Wait didn’t Eld tell you to practice indoors?

“His exact words were that it was “extremely recommended” he never said I couldn’t practice outdoors,” Eren smiled.

I just stared at the erasers and took a deep breath before clasping my hands together and jokingly praying for my life to be spared.

“Hey, I’m getting better,” Eren rolled his eyes.

“You dented the floor earlier, with paper,” I said staring at him with a serious expression.

“Well, maybe I meant to do that,” he said before closing his eyes. I heard his thoughts tell him how stupid he sounded.

“You can’t even say that without your own thoughts calling you an idiot.”

“Whatever, I promise I won’t kill you. Don’t you trust me?” He asked with a goofy smile.

“With my life,” I said before letting out a sigh, “quite literally in this case.”

“You’re being overdramatic,” he rolled his eyes.

“Maybe, but mark my words if I get killed by one of your erasers I will haunt the shit out of you, full poltergeist style.”

“Fair enough, but I think Ymir wouldn’t be too happy with you,” he laughed.

“Oh well, I can have her tell you to go fuck yourself from beyond the grave.” I laughed.

“You can, but it might get awkward when I tell her I’d rather you fuck me,” he said and my cheeks turned bright red.

“Shut up,” I said before stifling a laugh with my hand.

“Make me,” he said as his eyes looked down at my lips. I just rolled my eyes and leaned over pressing my lips against his.

When I pulled away, he just smiled, “thank you.”

“You know if you want a kiss you could have just asked for one like a normal person.”

“I know,” he smiled before turning his attention to the erasers. I just scooted closer to him and laid my head on his shoulder.

“Alright, now for a long night of suffering,” Eren joked.


	51. Sasha

I just laid against his shoulder as he practiced. He was getting a little better at making things lighter. Nothing was floating too far away, but he wasn’t even attempting to make things heavier. I heard his thoughts and found out the reasons. The first reason was that he didn’t want to scare me, but the main reason was that he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to control it.

I could tell using his power earlier and denting the floor scared him. He thought he had gotten the hang of it just to be reminded he had no real control over it when it really came down to it.

I reached out and grabbed his hand pulling his attention away from the floating erasers causing them to fall from the air. “Sorry,” I chuckled watching them plop down on the blanket. “You can try and make them heavier you know I was just joking about you killing me,” I said, knowing damn well he would be hesitant to do so.

“No it’s okay, I think I should just stick with practicing making stuff lighter, there’s still some work to be done with it,” he said looking away from me almost like if he couldn’t see my eyes then maybe I wouldn’t be able to tell he was lying about his reasoning.

“Well, the other one needs more work, right? So you should practice that one,” I suggested using his own logic against him.

“I think you were right about that one, it should be practiced indoors, or at least with the teachers,” he said awkwardly.

“Bullshit,” I rolled my eyes finally deciding to go straight for it instead of beating around the bush, “look Eren I know you’re scared that you’re going to mess up, but the only way to fix that is to actually practice,” I said, giving his hand a tight squeeze.

“I know,” he sighed, “but not tonight, I’m still upset about what happened earlier and if I tried to use my powers my negative emotions might affect them.” He let out a frustrated sigh before leaning his head on mine and squeezing my hand back. “I hate having powers that are affected by emotions,” he said and I just scoffed.

“I know right, they’re the worst,” I said before watching his head shot up.

“Sorry,” he said with an awkward laugh. “You definitely have it worse,” he said and I just shook my head.

“No such thing as worse in this case. I mean sure for me shit starts flying around like a poltergeist is in the room, but you could quite literally have the weight of the world on your shoulders. I think those are both pretty bad,” I said and he laughed.

“Well when you put it that way then yeah sounds like we are both pretty screwed,” he said before looking to me with a smile. “It could always be worse,” he said and I looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “We could be Armin and just phase through the floor at every slight negative emotion.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s true. God how does he get through the day,” I asked knowing damn well I’ve already lost count of how many times I’ve seen him phase through his chair.

“I don’t know, but damn I feel sorry for him sometimes, but at least he thinks it’s sort of funny so he’s not upset about it,” Eren said before standing up and giving a big stretch.

“We should probably head back to the dorm room,” he said and I checked the time before agreeing with him. I didn’t realize how tired I was until we started walking back. I could barely stop yawning enough to see where I was going. I guess today took a lot out of me.

We made it back to our room and we both headed straight back to bed. I scooted closer to him as my eyes started to close. I wrapped my arms around him before whispering out, "goodnight babe."

"Goodnight," he said back placing a kiss on my cheek before burying his face in my chest.

 

When I woke up I felt my back scream at me. I was feeling it a little last night while sitting in the field, but now it really hurt. I knew this was coming, but I guess I still wasn’t prepared for how sore I’d actually be. I sat up and held my breath my back screamed at me. I’m not gonna lie, totally worth it though.

“Sorry,” Levi said looking at me from across the room. He walked over and gave me a hand helping me crawl out of bed.

“Thanks,” I said taking his hand. Standing on my feet wasn’t as bad as sitting. Then again the pain was mostly in my lower back and ass so that makes sense. A moment of realization struck and I turned to Levi, “today’s going to be a long day.” We had to sit for hours straight for class. I could already tell I was in for a world of hurt.

“Was it still worth it?” Levi asked with a little smile already knowing my answer I assume.

“Hell yes,” I laughed, “ I would do it again any day.”

“Glad to hear,” he said giving me a kiss on the cheek.

“Yeah, but next time you’re bottoming,” I said with a devious smile.

He just nodded, “if you want me to bottom I’ll bottom. I don’t mind, besides I have a pretty high pain tolerance,” he said and I rolled my eyes.

“Show off,” I mumbled before walking over to my closet and grabbing some clothes.

We got ready for the day and headed out to our first class. Jean and Marco walked out of their room while we were leaving ours. We decided to all walk together.

“So you guys had some fun last night it seems,” Jean said nudging me.

“Oh god did you hear us?” I asked looking to Levi with my eyes wide. I tried not to be too loud for that exact reason, but maybe the walls are thinner than I thought.

“Nope, but the way you’re walking and the hickey on your neck says it all,” Jean smiled and I turned to Levi with a glare.

You left a hickey? I asked mentally before asking Jean, “where,” so I could try and cover it up.

“Oh I left way more than one,” he said with a smug grin.

“Asshole,” I said before letting Jean fix my shirt to cover them.

“Next time you might want to leave them a little lower,” Jean said before propping my shirt collar up.

“I think he did it on purpose,” I said and the smile on my face confirmed it.

“Oh, he's one of those guys,” Jean said with a little wink.

“If you mean a total asshole then yes,” I said before letting out a sigh as we continued walking. “I’m just glad you said something when you did or everyone would know that I got laid last night.”

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing,” Jean shrugged.

“Are you kidding, Sasha would have a field day, and poor Armin would lose the rest of his innocence listening to her.

“If we had Hanji today it would be worse,” Levi added and I just gave him another glare.

“Good thing we have Petra and Mike, they don’t usually gossip all that much,” Marco added.

We took our seats in class and saw Sasha and Connie already waiting in their chairs. They were actually the only other people in the class. I guess we came really early. I felt dread as Sasha stood up and walked over to me. Oh no here it comes.

“You’re hopeless,” she said before pulling my collar down. Damn this was going to be interesting. “If you’re trying to hide them you’re doing a really shitty job you’re basically telling the whole world that you have hickeys on your neck. She rolled her eyes before straddling my lap. My hands flew up and my eyes shot over to Levi.

“What the hell?” I asked and Levi just laughed at me.

“Oh chill,” she said before pulling something out of her pocket I was too panicked to see what it was. “I just need a better angle. Now turn your head,” she said and I did what she said.

She put something cold and wet on my neck and I realized what she was doing. “Makeup?” I asked.

“Yup, I mean we aren’t an exact match in skin tones, but it will be less noticeable than dark purple bruises she said before blending it in.

“There, that’s better,” she smiled before putting my collar back down and getting off of me.

I just gave her a smile, “thanks,” I said before looking around. Levi just gave a nod before taking his seat.

“Damn Sasha if he was straight you would have made him pop a boner,” Jean blurted out when he stopped laughing hard enough to actually form words.

“Oh well, I mean I gotta have my friends back and help him cover hickeys. Unlike how you do it by just pulling up his collar,” she said glaring at him.

“How do you know I did that?” He asked defensively.

“Because that’s how you hide your own hickeys. We can always tell well you and Marco have done it since you’re terrible at hiding it,” She said crossing his arms.

Marco just bursted into nervous laughter as Jean sat down in his chair reevaluating his life choices. “So all I need to get a lap dance from Sasha is to have someone give me a hickey?” Connie asked himself out loud before looking at us. “Hey anyone want to give me a hickey?” He asked and Sasha just winked at him.

“Maybe tonight,” she said and he went from flirty to awkward not really expecting her to flirt back.

“Good lord, what did I walk in on?” Mikasa asked looking around the room. My eyes were drawn to her collar which was up and I just shook my head and burst into laughter.

“Oh for fuck's sake,” Sasha said before sitting her down. When she straddled Mikasa’s lap I watched as Mikasa had the same Panicked expression. However, she seemed a lot more okay with it than I was at first.

Before Sasha even pulled the makeup out Miaksa blurted out. “Well, this is new,” with an interested smile.

“Well get used to it, if you keep coming to class with hickeys on your neck,” She said and Mikasa went from smiling to covering her face from embarrassment. While Sasha covered up her hickeys I found it hard to hold back my laughter.

“What are you laughing at? I was just covering up yours a minute ago,” Sasha said and I stopped laughing. Mikasa, on the other hand, bursted into laughter.

“Was I the only one who didn’t get some last night?” Sasha rolled her eyes.

“I didn’t get any,” Connie said quickly.

“Well that was obvious,” Sasha said.

“Ouch,” Connie said pretending to be offended.

“Who says we got some?” Jean asked.

“Marco. The way he’s standing and keeps rubbing his neck and stretching his back tells me you guys did it last night and he bottomed.” Sasha said and Marco’s cheeks went red.

“You had to say something,” he asked Jean with a little glare.

“I didn’t think she actually knew,” he let out a little sigh of defeat.

Sasha fixed Miaksa’s collar and got off her lap just before Armin came into the room. “Good morning, what’s up?” He said

We all looked around at each other before all of us just blurted out, “nothing.”

“Well that’s not suspicious at all,” Armin said before having a look of realization. “You know what I’m better off not knowing,” he said before taking his seat.


	52. The Start to a Good Day

The rest of the class trickled in and Petra came in with a friendly smile to greet us. “How’s it going class,” she said walking in before taking roll. “So today we are going over shapeshifting,” she said and most of the class sat up.

It was one of the more rare powers that someone could develop I think so far there are only 4 people known to have had the power in the last decade. Well, 4 people who can shapeshift into anything rather than just shapeshift into a single item or shift a certain section of their body. 

There were very few powers as rare as this. A few of which are in this class. One that I know of which is rarer than shapeshifting with only 3 people known to have the power in the last decade, me being the 3rd. I am grateful for the anonymity that is provided. Also, people don’t tend to keep up with the stats on powers as I do so even the few people that do know about my power might not know exactly how rare it is. Mind reading is I think one of the rarest powers there is right next to Mikasa’s indestructibility. I think those are tied for second on the list.

The only power I know that tops ours is Eren’s power. His, on the other hand, I’ve only heard of one other person in the last decade to have gravity manipulation powers which makes him the second. I don’t think he knows just how special his abilities are.

Earth to Levi. I heard a voice in my head. It was Eren’s. If you keep zoning out like that Petra might notice you’re not paying attention. He thought and I gave him a little smile before focusing my eyes back on Petra who was talking about the different kinds of shapeshifting.

I started looking up the statistics after Hanji told me how rare my power was back when I first told her about it. Looking up my powers set me to a list of the rarest powers and it became a habit to check it every few months to see how things change.

So far the rarest powers list has changed only slightly with intangibility being knocked from 8th rarest to 10th rarest. Meaning two new people who have the power have been documented. I’m guessing one of them was Armin since enrolling in any powers school automatically updates the stats but leaves the names out of it.

Looking around the class I actually can’t believe how many rare abilities are here. There’s us four as well as Annie. Though she’s never verbally shared her abilities I’ve heard a little bit about them since we were always both sitting in the back of class and whenever I had my headphones out I caught a few things here and there. She can harden her skin into a crystallized material that is bulletproof.

It’s a form of shapeshifting but not enough to classify as the super rare kind. Hers was still rare since it’s individual to her. Usually, people, who have shapeshifting powers are incredibly rare since it differs from person to person. No two people share the same object aside from the people who can change into any item.

I looked around the room and couldn’t really see any other super rare ones. However, some of our teachers have some pretty rare powers.

Levi? I was pulled from my thoughts when Eren’s crept through. You okay? You look really distracted? His thoughts sounded worried, but I made sure to give him a smile.

“I’m okay, it’s nothing bad I was just thinking about everyone and how rare some of the powers in this room are,” I said trying to give a quick explanation as quietly as possible so I didn’t distract Petra from teaching. I wanted to make sure Eren wasn’t worried about me since this time I’m actually daydreaming about good things rather than depressing ones.

Oh alright, just thought I’d check in. He thought placing his hand over mine. I took a break from my thoughts and tuned into Petra who seemed to be almost done with the lesson for the day. Sure enough, looking at the time I was daydreaming the whole lesson.

“Now this power is extraordinarily rare, well, at least this type of it,” she said and I just smiled to myself realizing I’ve tuned in at the perfect timing.

She quickly went over the stats of the power before branching off into how every version of this power is rare. The class went silent and everyone turned around. At first, I thought they were looking at me. Until I noticed them looking past me. I turned my head and saw Annie’s arm raised.

“Yes Annie please come up to the front of the class,” Petra said almost surprised. I thought it was because she was actually participating until Petra spoke up.

“So, I asked Annie if she would give us a demonstration of her power since hers falls under this category,” she said. She said no to start, but I told her to raise her hand and let me know if she changes her mind, I never thought she’d actually do it. Petra’s thoughts continued.

Annie just looked at Petra who gave her a nod. Annie took a deep breath before holding out her arm and rolling up her jacket so we could actually see her skin. Before our eyes, her skin hardened into a bluish crystallized material. I saw most of the class stared in awe since none of them knew what her power was.

The only ones who didn’t seem phased by this were Mikasa and I. I had witnessed this in her mind when she was thinking about her power and I'm assuming Annie’s probably shown Mikasa since well they are roommates… as well as dating.

“It’s also bulletproof,” Annie said and most of the class gasped. I think that’s the most any of us have heard her talk out loud. It was nice to see her get up and share for a change, I guess I’m not the only one who’s opening up around here.

Annie headed back to her seat and I noticed a pair of eyes staring at me from across the room. I looked and Ymir was practically glaring at me. I tried to look at her thoughts but she turned away the second I looked at her. Her thoughts were nothing but what was going on around her. She’s purposely throwing off her thoughts. That’s what people usually do when they know about my power and are trying to mentally hide something. They think about anything and everything else except what they want me to know.

I wonder how I pissed her off. Maybe they finally told her how they died. I mean I would be pretty mad at me too hearing that. I took a deep breath and focused on something else. Petra had finished up the rest of the lesson and called Eren out into the hall first.

Of course, well, now what. I just pulled out a book and buried my nose in it. I think my good day just turned back around. It might be to soon to tell but the pessimistic side of me is already starting to feel like something is going to go really wrong today. When Eren came back I just leaned my head on him.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, all of the sudden I just feel,” I paused a moment not really knowing how to describe this feeling of impending doom, “drained,” I said almost if questioning the word myself.

“Anything specific going on?” He asked wrapping an arm around me.

“Just a bad feeling,” I mumbled before letting out a sigh.

Jean and Marco turned around after Eren came back and they struck up a conversation. I tried to stay positive and keep my head up but in the back of my mind, there was just this dreaded feeling nagging at me. Something bad was going to happen today. I just held Eren’s hand tight and prayed this wasn’t like the last time I felt this sort of dread.

The last time I felt this dread someone died later that night. However, the sense of dread isn’t as strong as it was back then, but it’s definitely the same feeling.

When Petra called me out of the class I almost felt relieved. I didn’t have to focus on keeping a positive attitude and for a moment I could just forget about everything.

“So how’s your day today,” she said, trying to get a read on my emotions. I could already tell that means she felt something.

“It’s been good so far.”

“But?” She asked.

“But I’m feeling something that scares me,” I said and she nodded.

“It’s a strong feeling,” she said and I knew I was projecting it a little.

“Sorry,” I said taking a deep breath. I guess I can’t just forget about it.

“You don’t have to apologize.” I heard you haven’t had the best week. She thought.

“Nope,” I said and I knew she was both helping me with my power as well as trying to help me with whatever was going on. I wasn’t as comfortable sharing my problems with her as I was Hanji and Erwin, but I’m pretty sure Auruo told her about what was going on yesterday.

Do you want to tell me about it? She thought.

“It’s just been a stressful week, “ I said keeping it short and simple. I promised Eren I’d open up, but that didn’t mean to everyone. Sure I’ll try and open up to the others in our friend group and even some of the teachers, but not about my personal baggage.

Just as I thought he doesn’t want to talk about it she thought before clearing her mind, “I mean, let’s try your telekinesis,” she said with a big smile a little embarrassed she let that thought slip through.

“Yeah, sounds good,” I nodded.

After I finished with Petra I came back in and saw that class was almost over. I didn’t know whether to be relieved or panicked. I can’t tell why I’m feeling this and I don’t really think I want to know.

We walked to Erwin’s room. I told Sasha and the others where we were heading and she told us she was going to pick up food from the cafeteria before joining us. After everyone got their food they met us in his class. I was surprised to see Annie come in with Mikasa. I could tell Armin was a bit surprised and I was worried since he doesn’t have the best track record with rumors and Annie has a lot of those spread about her.

I took a look at his thoughts to make sure that he wasn’t going to start stuff. The last thing we want is for her to try and open up and get pushed further away. Um, why is Annie in here. No, Armin you know better. Remember not all rumors are true. Besides Mikasa and her are dating so she can’t be that bad. I have to get to know her before making any judgments. I let his thoughts fade away and couldn’t help but smile. He’s definitely learned his lesson.

A few minutes into lunch the door swung open and Ymir walked in a little but stayed a good distance from the rest of the group. She pointed to me and angrily gesturing for me to come to her. Oh shit, she definitely knows something.


	53. The Start of a Bad Day

I got up and walked over to her. Suddenly I could tell that all eyes were on me. The conversations behind me had died down, but mostly everyone tried to mind their own business despite failing. Eren was the only one who was actively trying to listen in. I could feel his worry from across the room.

“What the fuck did you do last night?” Ymir asked with such anger that almost made me flinch. I've never seen Ymir mad, well until now that is.

“What do you mean?” I asked and she let out a frustrated sigh. “Don’t play dumb with me,” she said before taking a deep breath and trying to calm herself down. “I enjoy sleep ya know and it’s kinda hard to do that when you have two spirits relentlessly trying to get your attention because they are so frantic. I couldn’t even figure out what they were trying to say for the first hour they were so angry and frustrated.

She took a breath and looked at me, “so I’m going to ask you one more time, what the fuck did you do?” She said before crossing her arms waiting for me to answer.

“Well I knew they were there so I tried to talk to them,” I said and she cut me off.

“Mistake number one,” she said before glaring at me to continue.

“I said what I was feeling-,”

“Mistake number two,” she cut me off once again. “Ya know what, why don’t I tell you where you fucked up since you genuinely don’t know,” she huffed angrily pinching the bridge of her nose.

“You fucked up because you said what you thought they wanted to hear and sure you may honestly feel genuine in some of these things you were saying, however, all you did was piss them off, and me included. I need my sleep dammit,” she huffed before taking a calming breath. "If you fuck with my sleep again I will kill you," she mumbled before letting out a long sigh.

She looked around the room and saw people staring at us. She went quiet and just grabbed my arm before dragging me into the hallway. I looked back at Eren who was fighting his thoughts which were telling him to get up and follow me. I just gave him a quick nod that said I’d be okay.

The second the door closed she took a few deep breaths. “Look, I know all of this has probably been hard on you, but you should have waited to talk to them with me. Usually, I’m all for people talking to their loved ones with me or not, but you, on the other hand, are one of the first I’m telling to stop talking when you are alone.” She took another deep breath calming herself down the rest of the way. “When you piss off the spirits too much they will haunt you, or they will come to me and pester me until I tell you off in person,” she said before telling me to sit down so we could actually talk.

Normally I’d be a little more hesitant about sitting on the dirty floors, but this was an exception. I sat down and she sat next to me pulling her knees up to her chest.

“Now before we talk to them I have a few questions,” she said before looking at me.

“Okay,” I said crossing my legs and waiting patiently.

“So, why do you think they are mad at you?” She asked first and I felt guilt overwhelm me.

“Hey, look I know these are going to be hard questions, but please try not to shut down on me,” she said and I tried my best to rein in my emotions since I knew the reason she said that is because she could feel them.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, “I mean, last night I gave them an apology that probably meant nothing. Sorry doesn’t bring them back,” I whispered.

“Okay,” she said a little awkwardly before taking a deep breath, “so why did you feel the need to apologize in the first place?” She asked.

“Because I’m the reason they’re dead,” I mumbled. It took everything to not lose my composure. I fought back all the tears all the emotions welling up inside. I was in school I couldn’t break down not here in the middle of the hallway.

She covered her ears and let out an annoyed sigh before saying, “shut the hell up for a second would you.” She waited a moment before uncovering her ears, “that’s better,” she mumbled.

“Well, I can tell you that yes they are very angry with you, but not for the reasons you think,” she took a deep breath before looking off in a different direction.

“I know but hold on,” she said before turning back to me. “They really want to get their message across.

“They aren’t mad because you’re the reason they died, they are mad because you think you’re the reason they died. They’re mad because you blame yourself and feel the need to apologize. They are really pissed that you apparently made promises that isolated you from others and that you’ve dwelled on this so much to the point where you refuse to open yourself up to anyone. That is why they are mad.”

“But I felt so much hatred last night-,” she cut me off.

“It was your own,” she said, “that was part of the reason they came to me. They were so worried about you and desperate to talk to you that they wouldn’t leave me alone all night.” She said with a bit of an annoyed look. 

Before I could even process what she was telling me I felt a warm feeling around me. I knew exactly what it was before the words left her mouth. “They’re hugging you,” she said and I felt the tears come to my eyes. I couldn’t stop it. I barely managed to hold them back. I couldn’t speak every time I tried I felt my throat tighten.

“Now, they have a few things they want to tell you,” She said before covering her ears again. “Hey one at a time,” she said quickly before pointing near me. “You first,” she said before going really quiet staring just past my head.

“So,” she started, “Farlan says that he’s glad you’re safe and that he’s okay. He wants to tell you he’s sorry he had to go so suddenly, but he doesn’t blame you at all for what happened. He says it wasn't your fault and you could barely save yourself there was no way he expected you to save him. He wishes you a long and happy life.” She said and I felt my head lower.

“Okay, now you,” She said looking to the other side of me just past my head again.

“Okay, Isabel says she’s sorry. She hopes that you stop blaming yourself. She says that you couldn’t have known and that even if you think you did she says that there was still nothing you could have done. She says she’s very sorry and that even though she regrets what happened she’s doing better now.” Ymir took a pause before placing her hand over mine. I think she could tell I was really struggling to hold everything back.

“She says all though she wants to see you face to face again that if she sees you too soon she will kick your ass. She wants you to open up more and experience everything she couldn’t. She wants you to be happy.”

Ymir paused again but this time looking at both of them. “They say they have to go now but they will be watching over you. They also want to make sure that you know how much they love you.”

I just nodded before taking a few deep breaths before forcing out the words, “I love them too, so much,” I said holding back my tears. My heart physically hurt. I felt the air around me go cold and I knew they were gone.

Ymir just scooted closer to me before wrapping her arms around me, “sorry I know that was hard,” she said and I took a deep breath.

“Thank you,” I said. I wanted to say more, but I knew I couldn’t if I uttered another word I knew I’d break down.

I got up and just looked at the door I reached for it before taking a deep breath. I prepared myself to walk back in the room, but I couldn’t physically bring myself to open the door. I locked eyes with Eren through the window in the door. I felt all the emotions I had been suppressing collapse before turning around and practically running to the bathroom.

I heard Ymir call my name, but my legs didn’t stop as I turned the corner into the men's restroom. I ran into the nearest stall and leaned up against the door and felt my legs give out from under me. My knees collided with the hard tile floor. I knew that would hurt later, but at the moment I could barely feel the sting.

A minute later I heard someone else walk into the bathroom. I took a deep breath as I heard Eren call my name. “Levi,” he said before stopping in the doorway.

I just unlocked the door before opening it slightly. I looked at him and my emotions were already affecting him even from across the room. From what I could see through blurry eyes were tears streaming down his cheeks.

I must have looked really pathetic. Here I was crying on the floor like a baby. I couldn’t even figure out what emotions I was feeling. I was sad, but also happy, but also angry mostly at myself.

“Sorry, here I go making you cry again,” I managed to force out as Eren walked up to me and kneeled down next to me. He placed a hand on my back and rubbed circles as his other warm pulled me closer to him.

“Don’t apologize,” he said before placing a kiss on my cheek.

“Do you want to talk about it or do you want me to distract you from it?” he asked and I was about to ask for a distraction before remembering what Isabel was trying to tell me. She wanted me to open up more and be happy. Well, in order to do that I need to get these emotions out I need to talk about it. Not only did I just hear from my two best friends who have been dead for 9 years now, but I was told that they didn’t blame me for their deaths. They never blamed me, and they wanted me to stop blaming myself. In order to fulfill that wish of theirs I had to talk to someone about it.

“I want to talk,” I said taking a deep breath to try and calm down. “I want to tell you about Farlan and Isabel, I want to tell you about our friendship, some of our best memories, and my worst. I want- no I need to tell you how they died.” I said before taking a big breath preparing myself for the longest most draining conversation of my life.


	54. Levi's Power Trigger

I calmed myself down before even attempting to speak. I knew this would be hard, but I had to talk about it. If I didn’t talk about it now I would never be able to talk about it.

“Farlan and Isabel were friends I grew up with,” I started before taking a few deep breaths just mentioning their names made my breathing shaky. “I met them at a young age and we all clicked instantly. We were all really close, practically inseparable. They were more than just my friends, they were my family. I was closer to them than I ever was to my actual family.” I took a deep breath feeling myself getting overwhelmed by my emotions.

“It felt like I knew their parents more than I knew my own at times. With them living just down the street I would often spend days at their houses and vice versa.” I smiled and leaned my head on Eren’s shoulder. His eyes were on me I could tell he was listening to every word I was saying.

“Not long after Isabel’s 11th birthday, she and Farlan started dating. I remember being so happy for them. I acted a lot like Hanji back then being the crazy friend who would gush over how adorable my friends were even taking pictures of the two of them telling myself that I’d show them at their wedding one day.” I felt my breath catch in my throat as some tears spilled from my eyes. “Those were the days, I never thought for a second that they wouldn’t live to see that day.”

I had to change the subject as I felt my emotions start to take control. “Every time we had a family trip the others were also invited. Well after we had all turned 13 Farlan’s parents invited Isabel and me to one of their family picnics. I was allowed to go, but Isabel happened to get in trouble the night before. I was so bummed out at the time, but looking back now I wish we had all got in trouble the night before. I feel like it was a sign we should have listened too.”

I took a deep breath and felt my hands nervously twist the fabric of my shirt to avoid focusing too heavily on what I was saying. “Farlan and I were so excited about the picnic, we always were.” I couldn’t help but feel a heaviness press on my chest as I remembered what came next.

“We were both trying to distract ourselves from the empty seat next to us that we just joked the whole ride there, or at least that was the idea. One minute we are joking around with each other the next a thundering noise followed by so much pain and blood.” I felt my hand grab Eren’s for comfort and give it a squeeze.

“One minute we were upright smiling and laughing the next we’re upside down and no one is moving and there is blood everywhere,” I said before feeling myself start to panic. I knew I wasn’t explaining it properly but to live through that experience again so vividly hurt. I felt like someone was holding my other hand and knew they weren’t gone they were right here with me walking me through this. I can do this, I can tell him what really happened.

I took a deep breath and continued, “ A drunk driver had hit us. It all happened so fast, but I managed to throw my arms up, and apparently my telekinesis decided to manifest and I was able to stop most of the shrapnel from injuring my vital organs. Of course, my powers being brand new and never having used them before, I wasn’t able to control it very well and I got hit with a good deal of glass and metal that left a few nasty scars. My leg and arm also got pinned under some debris from the car. My knee was obliterated and you could see the bone in my leg. My arm was just minor compared, but still broken nonetheless.” I said before knowing now I would have to explain the worst part of it.

“While hanging upside down I could barely see from the blood that kept dripping into my eyes. Everything was blurry and all I could hear was silence with a faint ringing. I managed to look at Farlan and I saw how still he was. There was a giant shard of glass sticking out from his neck and there was so much blood it wasn’t dripping, but pouring from his body. I remember screaming his name. I couldn’t even hear my own screams.” The mental image of his body just hanging there upside down made my blood run cold.

I felt myself start to hyperventilate and tried to clear my thoughts. I took a few dozen deep breaths before forcing myself to continue. “I tried to look to his parents for help, but they were really still and weren’t answering. I remember just screaming for help for what felt like an hour, I know it must have only been like ten minutes, but that was ten minutes I was trapped upside down with my friends, and his parent’s bodies.” I took another few deep calming breaths.

“I don’t remember hearing the sirens I just remember the fire department prying to door open and getting my leg and arm unstuck. I remember begging them to help the others since they were in worse shape than me, but my requests fell on deaf ears. They ignored them and got me into an ambulance.”

“I remember looking at the crash as they put me in an ambulance. The car I was in was practically flattened in most parts. I remember knowing we were in the second lane while driving, but seeing the car flipped over across the third and fourth lanes and pinned against the center divider made me realize just how bad it was.”

“I remember blacking out in the ambulance still in denial. I kept telling myself that I would see them again at the hospital that they were going to be okay that they were just unconscious,” I took a deep breath. “I remember waking up in the hospital two days later after surgery and being in critical condition. I remember demanding to see Farlan and his parents. I remember the silence that followed as the nurses looked at each other.”

I took a few more deep breaths as I blinked trying to stop any more tears from spilling but to no avail. “They told me that his parents died on impact and that Farlan was unconscious so he didn’t feel anything when he bled out. They assured me that they all died quick and painless deaths.” I remember being so hysterical that I tried to get out of the bed. I was insisting that they were lying and that I was going to go find them. I climbed out of bed and tried to walk on my broken leg. I had to be sedated by the nurses.” It wasn’t my proudest moment, I thought.

“When I woke up after that Isabel was sitting next to my bed crying her eyes out. I knew it had to be true and I broke down. Her mom didn’t complain when she begged her to stay the night in my room. Her and her mom both stayed. Her mom slept in the chair, but Isabel and I didn’t sleep we laid in the hospital bed all night crying our eyes out until there were no more tears to cry and we just ended up dry heaving.”

“She spent the next few days practically living at the hospital with me. I didn’t mind one bit, and her mom never said anything to try and pull her away from me. She knew we needed each other.” I took a few deep breaths and held Eren tighter. I could tell he was still confused about a few things. Like how Isabel died, or how I could possibly think that was my fault, well I had answers for him, but I needed a minute to collect myself before continuing.

“I remember the night I was discharged Isabel went home too. She gave me the biggest hug and told me how much she loved me, this wasn’t anything unusual we always would tell this to each other even more so in the last few days. What was unusual was the emotions I had started feeling during the hug and the thoughts that popped into my head. I was completely overwhelmed with sadness and grief it was like my grief had doubled in the span of a second. What followed was a bunch of morbid thoughts about how ending it all would fix everything.”

“On my way home the grief lessened and I was able to think somewhat clearly. I didn’t put two and two together until that night when I heard an ambulance go down my street and I got the most sickening feeling that maybe just maybe those weren’t my thoughts.”

The next day my thoughts were confirmed when her Isabel’s mother stopped by to deliver a note she had left me. There were tear tracks stained on her face. She could barely keep it together as she stood there in the doorway. I remember feeling like my whole world was crumbling down around me. In the span of a week I had lost my friends, my family.”

“At the funeral, I made the mistake of talking to Isabel’s mother and telling her I what I felt and what I thought and how I realized it wasn’t my thoughts. I remember she blamed me she yelled at me for not telling her sooner. She called me a freak and told me to get the fuck out of her house. So I did just that. I left and haven’t bothered her since.”

“She, on the other hand, came by my house about a month later and apologized for what she said, she told me she was just angry, and that if I ever needed her that her door was always open. I’ve barely spoken to her since aside from sending flowers and a card to her house every year for Isabel's birthday to make sure she knows I never forgot her.”

“The more I dwelled on what happened, the more I realize I could have saved Isabel, I could have saved Farlan, I could have saved all of them. Why couldn’t my powers just work? Why did they only protect me? Now to torment me my powers have grown too strong that not even I can control them, but back then they were so weak to the point I could barely save myself.”

I felt myself start to hyperventilate again and this time when I tried to get my emotions back under control I had no luck. I closed my eyes and buried my face into Eren’s chest. He just held me close. I heard the stalls slam open and shut. I was just grateful that there wasn’t anything in the room that could start flying around due to my panic attack.

Eren rubbed my back and just kissed my head. “Levi, I know you hate when people tell you this, but it’s not your fault,” I heard him say and it finally clicked.

“I know,” I said through jagged breaths. Farlan and Isabel made that clear and after going over everything again just now it all clicked. “It’s just upsetting to know that no matter what I did, I couldn’t stop it and there’s no do-over, no second chances. They aren’t coming back, they aren’t going to experience life, they aren’t going to grow up and get their dream jobs, they aren’t going to walk down the aisle and have a happily ever after. Their lives were cut short the second that drunk driver decided to get in the car.”

Eren just placed a kiss on my forehead and I just cried. I think this was the first time I had truly let myself grief both their deaths, the first time I’m letting my emotions out and not holding them in, the first time I’m opening up. I heard the bell and took a deep breath to try and calm myself down. We had to get to class.

“Don’t,” I heard Eren whisper. “If you need more time we will sit here for longer,” he said, knowing I was forcing my emotions back down.

“But, class,” I said not really wanting to go.

“Don’t worry I told Jean that if we weren’t back by the time the bell rang to have Hanji write us a note. I don’t know what it was but something told me we would be a while,” he said and I gave him a smile.

“You’re always so prepared,” I said leaning my head on his shoulder.

“If you want when the halls clear we can hang in Hanji’s office I’m sure she wouldn’t mind,” he said brushing my hair out of my face.

The suggestion of getting off this disgusting bathroom floor reminded me where we were. “I’d like that,” I said he helped me to my feet and we waited a few minutes before making our way to Hanji’s classroom. Hanji was in there it seems she was expecting us.

“I got your message and figured you two would need a place to cool down,” She said to Eren before looking to me. I looked like a pathetic mess. She didn’t bother asking what had happened instead she just gave me a comforting smile.

“Stay here as long as you need, Mike knows you’re with me, she said before turning off the lights to make sure no one else came in.


	55. Reconnecting

Hanji stayed at her desk and kept her distance letting Levi choose whether or not he wanted to share. I followed Levi as we took some seats toward the front near Hanji. Guess he didn’t mind her hearing anything.

I scooted my chair as close to him as I could and wrapped my arms around him. “I’m really drained,” Levi mumbled before leaning his head against me.

“After all that’s happened these last few days especially today, I’d be worried if you weren’t,” I said running my fingers through his hair. He just smiled and closed his eyes. We sat there for a few minutes and he took some deep breaths before sitting up.

“We should go to class,” Levi said a few minutes later. “I’m ready to go back, besides it’s not like we really do much in class besides sit there.”

“If you’re ready then I’m ready,” I said and he gave me a nod.

“Thank you Hanji for letting us chill in here,” Levi said and she gave us a big smile.

“No problem anytime boy’s,” She said before standing up and walking us to the door. She gave us both a hug before we left. We slowly made our way to Mike’s class and when we walked in he was just finishing up talking about what seemed like magnetism powers.

He just gave us a nod as we made our way to our seats. After he finished up the lesson he walked over to us to check-in. “You boys' okay?” He asked. I didn’t need Levi’s empathic abilities to tell he was concerned.

“Yeah, we’re good it’s just been a stressful day,” Levi responded and I nodded along in agreement.

“Okay, I’m here if you need to talk,” He said before calling Mikasa outside for her individual lesson.

“You okay?” Jean whispered as he turned around, “You disappeared in the middle of lunch and then Eren ran out of the room like his life depended on it, and well, we were all really worried,” Jean asked.

I didn’t realize how worried the others would be, but looking around the room I could tell from the few people who were looking they all seemed relieved to see me. Especially Sasha and Armin occasionally glancing my way.

“Yeah, sorry about that, but I’m okay now,” I smiled. Thinking to myself that after today things might actually get better. I’ve spent so long dwelling on the past and what I could have done that now looking forward doesn’t seem as dark. Then again I have the personification of the sun sitting next to me.

“Alright, well we’re here for you if you need us, okay buddy,” Jean said putting his hand over mine. When his hand touched mine I could feel the worry pouring out of him. I wonder how much they know. I could tell they knew the basics since every time we see Ymir talking to someone and they have an emotional reaction good or bad everyone just sorta knows.

I looked over at Ymir. I wanted to know what she was thinking since I just left her in the hallway I knew she’d be worried, but I wasn’t expecting her to be looking at me.

We locked eyes and I could just feel her worry pouring into me. I took a look at her thoughts and instantly felt bad for leaving her in the hallway. Levi, I’m so sorry, I should have just waited to tell you after school. I’m sorry I hope you’re okay. Are you okay? Wait you can’t answer, um if you’re okay blink twice.

I blinked twice for her to let her know that I’m okay. Wait you’re not just blinking because I told you too right? Oh god, that’s what you’re doing.

I just gave her a smile and rolled my eyes. Oh, am I annoying you? Oh, then you are okay. Oh good, still I’m sorry I should have waited to tell you. They were just so panicked and I was panicked and mad and oh god I’m rambling. Anyway, I’m glad you’re okay. Also After class, I’d like to talk to you again it seems they aren’t fully done with you just yet.

I gave her a confused look before mouthing ‘what?’ hoping she would just explain.

Isabel is standing over you right now and she’s trying to draw your attention to something, but I can’t figure out what.

I just looked around the room before whispering to Eren, “I’ll be right back babe.” I got up and walked over to Ymir before kneeling down at her desk.

“What’s going on?”

“Are you sure it’s okay to be talking about this in here?” she asked looking around the room. I could tell she was worried that I might break down again.

“Yeah, I’m sure. So what is she doing?”

“Well, she was looking down at your back pocket and kept trying to point. Do you have anything in your back pocket?” Ymir asked looking just past me before she looked back at me.

“Yeah,” I said before pulling out my phone showing her. “Is this what she was pointing at?”

Ymir looked past me before smiling, “yes, she wants you to open your phone.”

I set my phone on Ymir’s table and opened it. “What now?” I asked.

Ymir just kinda looked down at my phone and I watched as my background disappeared and contacts opened up. I watched as it scrolled down to M and stopped. It opened my text messages for the contact MommyO with flowers next to it.

Ymir looked back up at me, “she wants you to text her.” She got really quiet for a minute as she looked just past me.

“Okay, one sentence at a time,” she said before looking back to me.”

“She says that you both need each other. She really misses you and she can tell you miss her too. She says that you are all each other has left and you need each other more than ever.” She said taking a second after every sentence to listen to Isabel.

“I can’t though. She doesn’t need me, going to her will just make things worse.”

I felt a slight headache appear and disappear and Ymir laughed. “She smacked you,” she said at my wince. “She’s hellbent on it. She says don’t be stubborn. She’s visited both of you and knows the full story.” Ymir laughed again before looking at me, “she says she will haunt you if you don’t.”

“Fine,” I rolled my eyes, but honestly I felt relieved knowing that I wouldn’t be bothering her by going to see her. “Just don’t hit me again, that was a hell of a headache,” I said rubbing the back of my head.

“Yeah, that’s what I was dealing with all night,” Ymir laughed, “now you know why I was so mad this morning. Try sleeping with that going on.”

“I’m so sorry,” I smiled giving her a look of pity.

“Anyway, Isabel says she’s not leaving you alone until you text her.”

“She always was pretty stubborn,” I said before picking up my phone and typing up a quick text.

“Is that good?” I asked.

“Isabel says it’s good,” Ymir said after a moment.

I clicked send but not before feeling a little anxious about doing so. My eyes read over the message again before realizing how stupid it sounded. “Um, hey, I don’t know if this is still your number, or if you even still have mine, but I was wondering if it would be okay if we could talk soon, maybe catch up or something? Oh, this is Levi by the way.”

Before I could dwell on it much longer a message popped up. “Of course, I’d love that! Are you still at the school? I could drive up tomorrow night and we can get coffee and catch up?”

I just smiled before responding, “that would be great, can’t wait.” I set my phone down and gave Ymir a smile.

“I hope she’s happy,” I said, hoping this wasn’t going to be the most awkward experience of my life.

“She’s very happy,” Ymir smiled, “she’s gone now.”

“For good?” I asked I know she heard the disappointment in my voice.

“No, they will come and go, they are going to watch over you for the rest of your life, but they might not always make themselves known to you or me,” she said before putting her hand on my shoulder. “They love you and want to make sure you have a good life. However, they will interfere every once in a while,” Ymir laughed, “so be prepared for feelings like that headache or the staring,” she warned.

“Honestly, that doesn’t bother me, if anything it makes me feel better about everything. It’s just nice to know that they aren’t totally gone.” I watched as she grabbed my phone and picked it up typing something in it.

“Well’ I’m glad you seem a lot happier about all this and it seems like it has helped you come to terms with everything,” she said before giving me a hug. “If you need to talk about anything or have a feeling they want your attention you know where to find me,” she said before handing me my phone back.

I looked down and saw she had put her number in my phone. I just gave her a smile. “Thanks, Ymir,” I said before heading back over to my seat.

“You seem to be in a happier mood,” Jean said giving me a smile as I sat back down.

“Yup,” I said before grabbing Eren’s hand. “For once, everything is going well.”

I handed my phone to Eren letting him read the messages. He just looked up at me and I gave him a smile before whispering, “Isabel made me, and I’m glad she did.”

That’s great babe. I heard Eren think before he handed me my phone back. Mike had come back in the room for the third time and called Eren out. I gave his hand a squeeze and whispered in his ear, “good luck babe, you got this.”

He gave me a smile before heading out to do his individual lesson.

I looked at Jean and thanked them for talking to Hanji. "Hey don't worry about it, when Eren told me to tell Hanji honestly I was assuming you weren't going to show up to this class at all. But I'm glad you're here and you seem to be much happier," he said before leaning forward. "Eren keeps thanking me and saying he owes me one, but I don't think he realizes that I don't need anything to make sure that my friends are doing okay. That is reward enough," he said before looking around the room, "but if you tell anyone else that I'll deny it," he joked.

"I'm sure you will," I let out a little laugh.


	56. Disappointment

When Eren came back in I could tell he was disappointed, even worse than yesterday. He slumped down at his desk and laid his head down on the desk bringing his arms up to cover his face.

“How’d it go?” I asked hoping he would tell me about it rather than just dwell on it.

“Horrible,” he mumbled, “I couldn’t even get my power to work.” He took a deep breath before moving his arm slightly so he could look up at me.

“What do you mean?” I asked putting my hand on his back and rubbing circles lightly.

“Well, I was so stressed out about denting the floor again and I was trying so hard to not let my emotions influence it I ended up just standing there unable to use my power.” Eren let out a sigh, “Mike caught on to what was happening and told me not to stress about it that we would have more chances to try again and then he dismissed me.”

“Oh, hun I’m sorry.” He moved his arms a little so that his hand was visible and I heard him mentally ask if I could hold his hand. I did just that.

Jean turned around and I could tell he was listening in again, but he didn’t make it so Eren knew. He just changed the subject hoping to brighten Eren’s mood. “Hey Eren, so Marco and I were thinking about this weekend and we were going to just walk around the mall, but then I had a great idea, why don’t we all walk around. It could be just the four of us, or we could even invite the others if you want. You don’t have to if you don’t want to it was just an idea.” His voice lowered before he was practically whispering, “Since we really enjoy hanging out with you all.”

Eren’s mood perked up a bit as he gave Jean a smile. “I’d really like that,” he said before turning to me. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s a great idea, I’ll just have to bring my headphones,” I said learning from the last time.

“If you don’t I think your head would explode,” Eren laughed.

“Awesome, so should we invite the others too? Or would that be too many people?” Jean asked both of us to make sure it was okay.

“I don’t think it would be too many people,” I said before looking to Eren. He can get very anxious around lots of people, but it seems around people he knows he’s okay. I on the other hand still get nervous whether I know them or not.

“Yeah, I think it will be fine,” he smiled.

“Alright, we will talk to Sasha and Connie after class, how about you guys talk to Armin and Mikasa,” Jean suggested.

“Yeah, and if you guys mention it to Mikasa make sure to tell her Annie is welcome to come,” Marco added.

“Yeah, for sure,” Eren nodded.

“Well, in the meantime, why don’t we get everything set up like what time we are meeting and such,” Marco suggested and we nodded.

Eren pulled out a piece of paper so he wouldn’t forget and wrote down all the details so when he would pass them on they would be right.

The rest of the class went by quickly. When I was called out for my lesson Mike made sure I was doing okay before starting our lesson. One I finished my lesson the class was nearly over. I could tell Eren was still a little upset so I leaned over and whispered, “How about tonight you and I work on your power?”

“What's the point?” He said and I could tell he was giving up on himself.

“That right there is the point, your attitude towards it is why it’s not working. If you give up on yourself then, of course, it’s not going to work. I think if you and I work on it we can get it working and even improve on it. We won’t have to worry if you dent anything because we will be on the field, and the field already looks janky as hell.” I said and He sort of just nodded.

“I guess if you think it will help.” He said still unconvinced.

I grabbed his hand and used my other hand to raise his chin so that he was looking at me. I gave him a big smile before saying, “I know it will help.”

I saw a small smile making its way onto Eren’s face, “alright I believe you,” he said with a nod.

Class ended and we talked with Armin and Mikasa before heading back to our dorm before deciding to take a nap before we headed out to the field for the long night ahead of us.

I knew Eren needed a win. He needed to see that his powers are improving even if it’s slowly. He needed someone who knew what he was feeling and knew how his power worked. He wasn’t going to get that in a 15-minute session with a teacher.

However, I could feel what he was feeling and I could help using techniques that worked for my power, and if nothing else just help him realize that it didn’t need to be perfect he would have plenty of time to improve, but if he gave up now he would never be able to use his power properly.

We laid down and Eren fell asleep instantly. He was tired from fighting with his powers which fought back. He thought they weren’t working, but they were. They were just draining him and weighing on him rather than working how he wanted them to. I just pulled him closer and kissed his forehead before closing my eyes.

Tonight I would need to prove to him that his powers aren’t a lost cause. The only thing I was trying to figure out was how exactly I could do that. I knew what I had to do, but knowing what you have to do and actually going about doing it are two entirely separate things.

 

When I woke up, I checked the time and let out a groan. It was time to head out to the field. Levi was already awake. “Ready?” he asked. I wanted nothing more than to just roll over and go back to sleep. Not cause I was tired but because I really didn’t want to do this. I’ve been disappointed enough and this would just be a slap in the face.

Against my better judgment, I got up anyway. Levi was sure he could help, so even if I was sure this was a lost cause I’d give it a try for him.

I got dressed and we headed out. Levi had brought a bag today and it looked heavier than normal. We headed to the cafeteria to grab something to eat for dinner. We took our food out to the field. Levi laid the blanket out and we ate and finally, I decided to ask.

“So what’s in the bag?”

“Just some stuff we can practice with,” he said and I raised my eyebrow.

“Unless that bag is filled with a shit ton of erasers then I think you’re mistaken,” I said and Levi just laughed.

“I guess we will just have to see won’t we?”

Damn, I hate when he says shit like that. “Are you sure you can’t see the future?”

“As cool as that would be, no I can’t,” he smiled.

“Well, it seems I can, because all I’m seeing from tonight is disaster and disappointment.” Man, I sound really pessimistic tonight, but I can’t help it. This power has been nothing but a pain in the ass since before I ever knew I had it. Now that I know about it, it's even harder to control. Things were just better when I didn’t know about it. My thoughts were interrupted by a loud thump and pain in the back of my head.

“Did you just hit me?”

“I knocked some sense into you,” Levi said folding his arms. “You’re just going to make it worse,” Levi said before letting out a sigh. “You might think it was better off then, but I remember how miserable you felt. You were always tired could barely make it through the day without collapsing. You felt awful and you hated it, going back to the would be the worst thing you could do.”

He had a point. I remember barely making it through class without passing out. I let out a sigh, “well then what should I do?”

“Give this a chance. Go in without a bias. Don’t just assume you’re going to fail because in doing so you’ve already guaranteed that it will fail. Go in with a positive attitude and actually try it and give it a chance to work. Don’t give up at the first sign of failure okay?” Levi said putting his hand on mine.

“Fine, I’ll give it a shot. I’ll try not to be a little more optimistic about this,” I said giving him a smile. As annoying as this was I couldn’t be annoyed at him. He really was just trying to help me and if he was this determined that means I had to try my hardest for him.

“So, what are we starting with,” I said and he smiled.

“That’s the spirit!” He said before reaching for the bag.


	57. Heavy

I pulled the bag in my lap and unzipped it. I waited to pull anything out. I looked up at Eren first before pulling the first item out of the bag. A normal eraser that we’ve practiced with time and time again. “This is what we were using right?” I asked and he nodded. I pulled out the next item and watched as his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes squinted as he tried to figure out exactly what I was trying to do. His confusion quickly turned to disbelief.

“You want me to practice with that?” He asked with a laugh. He was sure I was joking.

“That's exactly what I want you to do,” I said in a serious tone. Eren stopped laughing instantly and got really quiet.

“Levi, I can’t even use my power properly on an eraser let alone a whole textbook,” Eren said before taking the heavy book from my hand.

“This thing is like a hundred times heavier than the erasers.”

“Exactly,” I said with a smile.

“Exactly? What do you mean exactly? I’m telling you that I haven’t practiced to get up to this level yet,” he said trying to hand the book back to me.

I shook my head, “didn’t you say you were going to go in with an open and more positive mindset?” I reminded him.

“Yeah, but that was before I knew you were already setting me up to fail. I’m sorry but I won’t do this.” He set the book down on the blanket and I rolled my eyes.

I got frustrated and looked down at the eraser I had set out in front of us. I quickly looked up at Eren’s forehead and it flew up and collided right where I had aimed.

“Ow, what the fuck,” Eren said rubbing his forehead. I let out a sigh and took a breath before locking eyes with him.

“So do you want to hear my thought process or do you want to just give up?” I asked folding my arms and scolding him.

He let out a frustrated sigh, “fine, tell me your thought process and maybe I’ll consider,” he huffed.

“Good,” I took a breath before pointing to the book sitting in front of him. “I think using something heavier might actually help here’s why,” I said before looking at the eraser which landed in the grass. I used my power to retrieve it. “We’ve been trying to use these on a power you’ve never had control over and expected to start small to work. Well, the only times you’ve ever really used this side of your power naturally, even if it was on accident, was when you used it on yourself.”

“Yeah so? What does that have to do with starting with a big ass book?”

“Well, you are a lot heavier than an eraser, and I don’t think we should purposely try on you since your powers are well, deadly. So, I found the heaviest things I could bring and decided that we could try it. It might not be perfect, but it might work a little better than what we were originally trying,” I suggested.

I watched a lightbulb go off in Eren’s head as I explained my thought process. Mentally he seemed to really like my idea, but there was still a voice nagging in the back of his brain to give up and that it’s hopeless. I hoped he wouldn’t listen to it and waited for his answer.

He stayed quiet for a moment before mumbling, “I don’t know.” He was starting to doubt himself. The voice was winning.

I started talking again trying to talk him into it. “We can start with one book or multiple, I put a few in the bag and I have some string so we can tie them together,” I said and he looked at the bag in front of me seeing how many books I had shoved in it.

“You carried that heavy ass bag all the way out here?” he asked.

“Yup, so don’t make me regret it,” I said rubbing at my shoulders to make it seem like they ached. In reality, I had my powers do most of the heavy lifting holding the bag up enough so that I wasn’t carrying all that much weight physically.

“Okay, let’s give it a shot,” he said with a nod. Nice guilt trip. He thought and I smile.

“Well, there was no other way,” I smiled before pulling out the rest of the books. “So do we start with one or all?”

“What do you think would be easiest for me?” Eren asked. He tried to pretend that he didn’t care, but I could see through his act. He needed a win. One more fuck up with his power and it could make things worse. He wasn’t asking me because he didn’t want to decide he was asking me because he didn’t want to risk messing everything up.

“I think the more weight the better,” I said and he nodded.

“Well, how do we know how much weight is enough?” Eren asked.

“Hmm,” I hadn’t thought about that before. “Stand up,” I said before doing the same.

“Um okay, why?” He asked before doing so. “I don’t see how this will- whoa what the hell!” He looked down at the ground.

“I’m not doing this am I?” He asked looking at the ground he was now floating over.

“No, I am,” I said before setting him back on his feet. “Okay, I think I have a general idea of how much weight needed to replicate this,” I said before sitting down and stacking some of the books. After tying it off I lifted them up with my power and tried to see how far off we were. It wasn’t by a whole lot maybe around 50 or 60 pounds, but it would have to do.

“Well, it’s not perfect, but it should be close enough,”

“So how are we going to measure this since I can barely pick these up normally?” Eren asked. Looking at the stack of books that were sitting on the blanket.

“Well, I’ll measure it with my telekinesis. I’ll try and lift it. I know about how heavy it is so when your power is affecting it then it should be heavier when I go to pick it up,” I explained.

“Will that work?” he asked looking from the books to me and back again.

I just shrugged, “I don’t see why it wouldn’t,” I said and he nodded.

“Okay,” Eren walked up to the stack of books and turned towards me. “You ready?” He asked. I could tell he was nervous.

“Before we start,” I said walking up and grabbing his hands. “Promise me if it doesn’t work perfectly you won’t give up. This is going to take a lot of practice, and if it doesn’t work the first time it doesn’t mean you failed it just means we need to work at it.”

“Okay,” Eren nodded.

We both knew the power would work, but with the weights being different from what he’s used to it will definitely throw off his power a little, but how much is the question. I was hoping his negative emotions wouldn’t affect it any more than I had planned for.

I backed up and stood on the other side of the pile of books. “Okay, ready,” I said and he nodded. I watched him focus on the stack. “Let me know when to lift,” I said and he nodded.

“Okay, now.”

I focused my power on the stack and tried lifting it. It was a lot heavier than I thought it was, but I was able to lift it. It was a little farther off than I would have thought, but that just means he was applying more pressure to himself than I had realized.

“It’s-,” I was cut off with a searing headache as the pile slammed to the ground. My vision blurry and I fell to my knees trying to stay conscious.

“Levi!” I heard Eren yell.

“I’m okay,” I said taking a deep breath. Eren’s emotions had got to him and his power went haywire while I was lifting it. It was too heavy for me and the pain of overexerting myself as I tried to hold the object nearly made me blackout.

“What happened? Oh my god, your nose is bleeding,” Eren said kneeling down next to me and using his jacket to stop the blood from dripping on my shirt.

“You’re going to ruin your jacket,” I said taking a few deep breaths as the headache made my head throb.

“I don’t care about the jacket. What happened? Did I do this?”

“No,” I said quickly. The last thing I needed was him to give up on this. If I would have spoken up quicker and told him how good he was doing then this wouldn’t have happened.

“I lost control of my powers, you were doing great,” I said giving him a smile. “Give me a few minutes to breathe and we can try again,” I said and he shook his head.

“No, if it hurts you I don’t want to try again,” he said and I could tell he knew. He knew I was lying. He knew his power was the cause. Even if he wasn’t going to call me out on my lie he still knew.

“Eren I’ll be fine.”

“No, we’re done,” he shook his head, “we aren’t doing that again.”

“Eren, please, don’t give up on it. We can try again later,” I said squeezing his hand. “Please, I’m literally on my knees begging,” I said looking him in the eyes. There was so much panic running through him.

He took a deep breath, “Fine, I’ll consider trying again, but not tonight.” He took a deep breath and just pulled me closer to him. “Not tonight,” he whispered again.

“Okay, that’s fair,” I said with a nod. “Tomorrow we can try again then.”

“Maybe,” he let out a sigh before placing a kiss on the top of my head. Slowly his panic faded away and he was able to calm down.

We went back to the dorm and got ready for bed. There was an awkward silence between us. I could tell Eren felt guilty about what happened, but I knew that exact feeling. Nothing I could say would change how he felt. So I said nothing. I froze up and didn’t know what to say, what to do. How could I fix this?

When I came out of the bathroom Eren was already laying in his bed. I walked over and crawled up next to him and felt such strong emotions. Tears came to my eyes and I took a deep breath before wrapping my arms around him.

“Babe, it’s okay,” I whispered in his ear.

“No, it’s not,” I heard him say through jagged breaths, “I hurt you and I can’t even promise that I won’t do it again because I don’t know what I did. I don’t know what happened and you want to try again and- his voice cut out.”

“Babe, I’m okay, look at me please,” the room went quiet and Eren took a breath before hesitantly rolling over to face me. His eyes met mine and I brought my hand up to his cheek.

“I am okay. It wasn’t your fault. If we try again I will be okay,” I gave him a smile. “I know what went wrong and I will make sure it won’t happen the next time.”

“What went wrong?” He asked.

I stayed quiet how do I say it’s because his emotions went haywire without him believing it’s his fault. It’s not because I know as much as anyone that emotions are hard to control, but try telling that to a person who is looking for a reason to blame themselves.

“We will talk about it the next time we try it, right now we just both need to get some rest,” I said giving him a calming smile. “I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted.”

Eren nodded and he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer to him. “I’m sorry babe.”

“Don’t apologize,” I said wrapping my arms around him, “you have nothing to apologize for. Get some rest okay.”

“Okay,” he said hesitantly, “goodnight.”

“Goodnight, babe.”


	58. Last Hope

I hardly slept all night. My mind was all over the place. I hurt Levi, I hurt him, and he wants to try that again? I don’t. I never want to try it again if it means I could hurt him. I know he doesn’t blame me for what happened, but I do.

I wish I never found out about this power, it’s been nothing but trouble ever since. I like it better not knowing. I like it better when I was miserable day in and out from the exhaustion because at least it was only me that was miserable. I wasn’t affecting anyone else. I wasn’t hurting anyone or damaging property, I was just tired.

I slipped out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. I thought since I couldn’t sleep I might as well get an early start on my morning routine. When I got out of the bathroom Levi was still asleep. I checked the time and saw that he would be waking up soon. I wrote a quick note and put it by his phone and slipped out of the room.

I needed time to think, time to collect myself. I knew he wouldn’t be happy with what I was thinking, but I needed time to clear my thoughts from it. He’s so determined to get me to work on my power, but I don’t want to. Not anymore. I just want to forget about it, or at least that half of it. I can’t just throw that all at him this early in the morning, but I can’t reign in my thoughts. They are spiraling out of control.

All I keep seeing is Levi falling to the ground in pain. I keep feeling the panic that rushed through me. Just knowing that I caused that is flooding my head with so much guilt it’s blocking out any other thoughts. There would be no way to hide this from him. I just some time to clear my head.

I walked around the empty campus. Hardly anyone is awake this early, and the few that are, aren’t exactly strolling around outside. I just found a bench outside and took a seat as I tried to get my head straight.

 

I opened my eyes and instantly noticed something was different. The bed next to me was cold, and there were only my thoughts in my head. I looked around the room and saw it empty. I spotted something next to my phone and picked it up. Eren left a note. I felt panic rush through me. The feeling that I felt the other day came back. Pure dread. The last time a note was written for me was Isabel’s suicide note. I took a few deep breaths trying not to assume the worst before reaching for the note.

I took a deep breath and let myself read the note. “Hey sorry for not being there when you woke up, but I woke up early and decided to stretch my legs before class started. I’ll meet up with you in class. Love you, From Eren.” I let out a sigh of relief before setting the note down.

As I got ready for the day I had to stop myself from getting distracted thinking about Eren. It’s no coincidence that he suddenly wants to take a walk before class starts after what happened last night. I know he’s doing it on purpose. Whether it’s because he’s feeling so guilty he can’t even look at me, or he needs time to think about what happened, or even that he’s just so frustrated with himself that his thoughts are running wild, I don’t know. Hell, it could even be all of the above.

I wish he would just talk to me. I want to know what he’s thinking. Maybe just maybe I could help, I could make this better. I mean it’s my fault he’s feeling this way in the first place. It was my stupid idea to use my power. last night probably hurt the progress of him learning to use his power more than help. I don’t know how else I can measure if his power is working or not, but I’m going to have to come up with an idea soon because I know he will never let me try that again no matter how much I beg him to. Hell if I don’t find a new way he will probably never work on his power again.

Maybe if I use a scale? I could lift the books onto a scale and gave him apply his power and then the scale would tell us if it’s working. Man, I should have tried that first. It doesn’t matter right now, all that matters is that I find him and try and talk to him before he completely scares himself out of the idea for good.

I finished getting ready and headed out the door a little earlier than normal and went looking for Eren. If I were Eren where would I be? I asked myself as I was walking. I saw someone sitting on the bench and to my surprise, it was actually Eren. In all honesty, I wasn’t expecting to find him so early.

I walked up and sat on the bench next to him. He was so deep in thought that he didn’t even see me until I sat down next to him. “Levi what are-?” His voice cut out when I gave him a smile.

“You sure look like you’re stretching your legs,” I said sarcastically and he lowered his head.

“I got tired,” he lied.

I just rolled my eyes, “sure you did,” I mumbled. “Now can we actually talk or are you going to use a lame excuse and run again?”

“What’s there to talk about?” He said and I could tell by his tone alone that he really didn’t want to talk about any of this. He knew where this conversation was going to end up and he wanted nothing to do with it.

“Look, I know you don’t want to use your power anymore but I have an idea that will be safe will you hear me out at least?” I asked placing my hand on his.

He looked up at me. His eyes looked hopefully, but the rest of him looked like he was ready to be disappointed. “Okay let me hear it.”

“Well, rather than measuring your ability with mine why don’t we measure it with an actual scale. I mean you can’t hurt a scale since it’s not living,” I shrugged.

“If it makes you happy, I'll give it a shot,” he took a deep breath and I waited for the but. “But,” there it is, “can we give it a day or two. I just need some time to calm down from what happened. I know if try to use that power again right away I’m going to get emotional and it’s just going to make things worse.” Eren explained nervously.

I leaned my head on his shoulder and gave his hand a squeeze. “That’s perfectly fine,” I said with a small smile, “thank you for giving it a shot and not giving up.”

“As annoying as it is, thank you for not giving up on me,” Eren mumbled.

“Hey I’m your boyfriend, I’ll never give up on you, not to mention it’s basically my job to occasionally annoy the shit out of you,” I said and he laughed.

“Occasionally?” He asked.

“Hey think of it as payback for you annoying the hell out of me for a few days until we started dating,” I said and he nodded.

“Fair point.”

I gave him a kiss on the cheek before standing up. I reached my arm up to help him up. “Alright, let’s head to class,” I said and he nodded. We made our way to our joint class with Hanji and Erwin.

I’m going to have to pull them aside and tell them that Eren is having some issues with his power and not to pressure him to use it. I’m sure they will understand, but I hope they don’t bombard him with questions either. He just needs some time to focus on things and I get on him enough they don’t need to do it too.

We made it to class a little earlier than expected. Erwin and Hanji were just unlocking the classroom when we walked up. I was thinking about a way to pull them aside without Eren noticing, but thought it might be impossible until Eren gave me the opening.

“Hey babe I’ll be right back, I'm going to run to the bathroom before class starts,” he said.

“Okay,” I said mentally letting out a sigh of relief.

The second the door closed I walked right up to their desk. “Guys, we’ve got an issue,” I said and instantly their full attention was on me. “So I’m sure you know that Eren’s been having some issues with part of his powers,” I said and they both nodded. “Well, I’ve been trying to help him and I came up with a good idea, but it was also a partially bad idea. Anyway long story short it backfired a little and now he doesn’t want to use his powers.”

I could tell they wanted to say something but I cut them off before they had a chance. “However, I came up with a better plan one that won’t backfire and he says he’s willing to try it, but he just needs a day or two to get his emotions back in check. So if he doesn’t want to use his power for his individual lesson can you not make him?” I asked.

“Okay we can do that,” Hanji nodded. “But before he comes back you better tell us what the hell kinda plan you tried that backfired.”

“Okay, but in my defense the plan was good, but the execution was poor. Like it worked, but I should have tried it a different way sooner.” I said before telling them what happened.

“Using your powers that’s the dumbest plan ever,” Hanji rolled her eyes.

“But his plan was also a good one,” Erwin interjected, “but yes Hanji is right using your powers was foolish. However, using more weight instead of less is genius.”

“So how are you going to go about executing it the next time since you said you had another way?” Hanji asked.

“Well instead of using my power to measure his I was thinking about putting the books on a scale so he could see how much force he was applying,” I shrugged.

“That’s,” Hanji started with a dismissive tone before thinking about it for a second, “actually really smart,” she said sounding impressed.

“It is a good idea, no way of hurting anyone, and it shows Eren the results instantly,” Erwin said thinking out loud.

“Well, share the results with us, if it works we’re going to have to use this method,” Hanji smiled giving me a thumbs up.

“Of course, but for now I want to give him space since I’ve been really pushing him about this lately.”

“That’s probably best,” Erwin nodded.

“Yeah after your little stunt it’s going to take a few days hell maybe even longer for him to get over.” She rolled her eyes again. I get it Hanji you’re not happy about my last idea.

“Thanks really reassuring,” I rolled my eyes.

I saw the doorknob turn and quickly changed the subject. “So what are we going over today?” I asked right as Eren opened the door.

“Well, it was supposed to be a surprise, but we were thinking of having one of your classmates demonstrate and talk about their power,” Hanji said.

“We won’t tell you who, that you will have to see for yourself,” Erwin smiled.

“That’s fair,” I nodded before turning to Eren.

“Oh hey babe, did you hear that?” I asked and he nodded.

“Sounds like it’s going to be an interesting class,” Eren smile.


	59. Student Teacher

We sat there for a little longer than usual before students started making their way in class. I was a little curious to see who would be talking about their power, but it was hard to focus on much of anything. I could barely keep my eyes open. The exhaustion of not sleeping last night was starting to catch up to me.

“Eren are you feeling okay?” Hanji asked. She snuck up on me and was standing right next to me. I guess I really couldn’t focus on anything. I didn’t even see her move from the desk let alone walk up to me.

“I’m okay, just a little tired, nothing I can’t handle,” I said giving her a smile. He just gave me a pat on the back.

“Alright, let me know if I need to open my office for you if you need a break,” she said before heading back up to the front of the class.

“You should take her up on her offer,” Levi whispered giving my hand a squeeze. “You’re exhausted,” he let out a yawn, “and it’s making me exhausted.”

“Sorry, but I really want to see which of our classmates are going up in front of the class,” I said and Levi nodded

“Okay, but during the second half of the class please promise me you’ll get some shuteye. I’ll wake you up at the end of class,” he offered.

“Okay, I promise,” I said and he nodded.

“Good.”

“Alright class,” Erwin said after he finished taking roll, “so the teachers had a meeting and we talked about how to get you more involved with the lessons. So we’ve planned to go over your powers. We asked one of your classmates if they would like to share their power and help teach the lesson and they agreed.”

“So, if you would please, come to the front,” Hanji said. The room went quiet and after a minute of nothing but a silent room, we finally heard a chair slide back.

Armin stood up and awkwardly made his way to the front of the class. He turned around and kept his eyes to the floor taking a few deep breaths before looking up and greeting the class. “Um, hello, I will be helping teach today’s lesson,” He muttered nervously.

“Hell yeah!” Sasha yelled from her seat.

“This is going to be so awesome,” I heard Connie say.”

“You can do this,” Mikasa whispered.

I nudged Levi and he smiled and nodded. Levi and I both gave Armin a thumbs up. Jean and Marco looked at us and also gave a thumbs up. I watched Armin go from awkward to a little more confident. He wasn’t as hunched over and he gave us a smile back.

“Alright, so Armin will be giving us demonstrations of what his powers can do as well as talk us through it. Erwin and I will be explaining other strains of this power as well as more of the background information about it.” Hanji explained and took a seat behind Armin giving him the floor to speak.

“Well um, my powers are invisibility and intangibility,” he said before mumbling, “as you may have witnessed on a few occasions,” he awkwardly cleared his throat. “These powers are linked to my emotions, which um, you might have also noticed,” he said rubbing the back of his neck.” He went quiet and looked down at the floor. I could tell he was starting to lose his nerve. He was slightly going transparent until someone shouted.

“Your powers are cool,” Sasha blurted out and I watched Armin perk up a little.

I decided to give it a shot, “emotion linked powers are awesome,” I yelled out and I saw him smile at me and give me a nod since he knew my powers were also linked with my emotions.

“Um, yeah,” he said starting to get his confidence back. He took a deep breath before continuing. “Not everyone who has the same, or similar powers as me are controlled by emotion. Actually, I think I’m the only one with intangibility that is emotion-based.” He said with a smile. “Oh, I should also mention that intangibility is the 10th rarest power to have,” I could tell Armin felt a lot better about speaking in front of us. He had started to ramble on about his power and how it worked giving us examples as he went along.

Every now and again the class would see him lose confidence even slightly and one of us would shout words of encouragement to let him know we were listening and we were proud of him.

Hanji and Erwin only had to explain a little after Armin finished since he did such a good job of going over everything. The only thing they really had to go over was what jobs people with Armin’s powers usually go into. Other than that Armin covered everything.

“So today’s a little different personal lesson-wise,” Erwin started. I looked to Levi and he seemed to already know. Actually everyone but Mikasa, Armin, and I seemed to know which means this is normally how they do special lessons on joint class days.

“Most of you already know but you newer students listen up,” Hanji said. Well, guess I was correct.

“If you noticed this lesson was a lot longer than any other lesson this week. That’s because the personal lessons are usually done with the teacher of your choosing. However, if you are really struggling to get the hang of something, then you will have both of us helping you at once,” he finished explaining.

“That being said,” Hanji said making her way to the whiteboard, “I’m writing both of our names on the board. Write your name under whichever teacher you would like to have your lesson with today. If you are a student who we think needs help from the both of us then I will write your name under both of us,” she said and my heart sank.

I knew for sure I was one of those students. It was embarrassing knowing that my name would be on the board for everyone to see. We all walked up and wrote our names down before taking a seat. I watched Hanji walked over before picking up a marker. Here it comes.

“So actually Armin, I’m going to move you under both of us,” Hanji said before writing his name. What? I didn’t get called well surely I’m next.

“Sasha, I’m also going to move you under both of us.”

“Hey, I was going to write my name there for you, but I figured it would be more fun if you did it,” she said with a smile.

“Christa, I’m also going to move you under both of us,” she said writing her name down. Christa just nodded like she already expected it.

“Eren, I’m also going to move you under both of us.” there it is. I knew my name was on the list, but apparently I’m not the only one.

“Mikasa, I’m going to put your name down too,” she said before writing it down. Wait a minute Mikasa is amazingly strong. Why is she on this list?

“Makes sense, I did break a chair yesterday in my last lesson,” she laughed awkwardly.

“Lastly Levi, I’m going to put you under both of us,” she said before writing his name down.

Levi just nodded before mumbling, “that’s fair.”

Wait what? Levi was good at using his powers why is his name on the list?

“Because I have no control over them,” he whispered. “Just because my powers are strong doesn’t mean I know how to control them. What you think is “good” is actually total chaos.”

“Wait really?”

“Yup. So don’t worry about being on this list. It’s not a bad thing it just means we need more practice which is good in the long run. The more practice means the more control,” he shrugged. “They put me on this list every week and I’m seeing more improvement by getting both of their help at once. They work well together and often will catch something that the other might miss if you were doing solo lessons,” he explained. I was starting to feel a little better about being on this list.

“We will be taking the joint lessons first and then we will break off into solo lessons,” Hanji said before calling Mikasa out.

“Oh that’s good,” Levi said, “the sooner you get done, the sooner you can rest,” he said giving me a smile. I was nervous about doing the lesson, but at the same time, I wanted it to come so it could just be over. I was so tired it was hard to keep my eyes open. I could feel a headache coming on with how much I was forcing myself to stay awake. I couldn’t stop yawning and I knew Levi must be cursing me in his head since every time I yawned he would too.

“Oh, you got that right. I can’t wait for you to go the hell to sleep,” Levi answered my thoughts back and I had to stop myself from bursting into laughter.

“Sorry babe,” I said giving him a peck on the cheek. “I hope they call me next,” I said and he nodded.

“They better,” he rolled his eyes but gave my hand a squeeze.


	60. Joint Lessons

Mikasa came back in and Hanji went to call the next person. She was looking at Levi before turning her head towards me. I looked over and saw him pointing at me and I rolled my eyes. He really wanted me to get some rest.

“Eren, your turn,” she said with an awkward smile.

I stood up and walked out with her. Erwin looked surprised to see that I had walked out when I heard Hanji whisper, “Levi wanted us to take him first.”

“Alright, well Eren, you ready?” He asked. As much as I wanted to say no, or to tell them that I won’t use half of my powers, or even why I won’t use them I lied.

“Yup, ready as ever,” I said with a fake smile and a thumbs up. I thought they would see right through me, but they didn’t even blink. Did they actually believe me? Awesome.

“Alright then let’s get started,” Hanji said with a big smile.

“So for this joint lesson, we will start with making things lighter is that okay with you?” She asked and I nodded. Thank god I thought they were going to jump right into where I’m having trouble. This gives me some time to figure out what I’m going to do.

“Perfect,” she said before reaching into her bag.

“So, I know you’ve been working with erasers and paper, but I wanted to see if we could work on heavier stuff,” she said pulling out a book. It wasn’t as big as the one Levi threw at me, but it was definitely heavier than what I was used too.

“And here I thought we were going to start easy,” I laughed.

“Learning and practice should never be too easy,” Hanji said before handing me the book.

I took a minute to just hold it in one hand with my arm out straight. I closed my eyes and felt how heavy the book was and focused on slowly making the weight disappear. I opened my eyes when I no longer felt the weight. The book was floating up towards the ceiling.

“You did it,” Hanji smile happily.

“Now,” Erwin said cutting her off, “if you noticed the book is on the ceiling now right?” Erwin said and I looked up at it. “Well can you bring it down without releasing your hold on it,” he asked and I felt confusion fall over me.

“What do you mean?”

“Well instead of returning it to its normal weight I want you too slowly return some of the weight until it’s just floating above your hand,” Erwin said and I felt myself start to panic.

“Hey don’t worry. We don’t expect you to be able to do it right away, that’s why it’s practice. We’re expecting you to work on this for a little while.” Hanji said and it made me feel a little better knowing that this wasn’t something they expected me to be able to do right away. It gave me something else to work on with my powers that might be a little easier to do rather than using the other half of this power.

“Okay, I think I can do that,” I said before looking at the book and tried to bring it back down slowly. I ended up just staring at the book as it stayed on the ceiling. I let out a nervous laugh before looking towards the teachers, “Starting now,” I said before awkwardly looking back towards the book. This was harder than I thought. I decided to add a little more weight to the book than I was previously trying.

Well, it didn’t work. The book fell from the ceiling and landed in my hands. It was it’s original weight or at least so close to it that I couldn’t even tell if my power was even still affecting it. “Oops,” whispered before looking up at Erwin and Hanji.

“It’s okay, try again,” Hanji said.

I nodded and lifted the book up again. I went about it a little differently imagining everything ever step of the way. I had to imagine myself lifting the book to the exact position I wanted in the air and had to mentally convert how light it needed to be. It wasn’t the easiest method but seemed to work. The book took a little longer to float up to the ceiling.

“Okay, I think I know what I need to do,” I whispered mostly to myself. I closed my eyes and imagined the process of what I just mentally went through but in reverse. I tried to stop it just before hitting my hand and when I didn’t feel anything touching my hand I opened my eyes expecting to see the book still on the ceiling, but to my surprise, it was about at a midway point from my hand and the ceiling.

“Not exactly it, but I got close,” I mumbled.

Hanji and Erwin’s jaws were both opened. Hanji just grabbed my hand and made me lose my focus causing the book to fall to the floor. “That was amazing you got the hang of it so fast, I’ve never seen someone learn something that fast before. On your second try, you did what was supposed to take you weeks!” She yelled practically jumping up and down.

“Hanji you’re scaring the boy,” Erwin said putting his hand on her shoulder to calm her.

“She is right though,” he said looking to me, “that was supposed to take you weeks to get the hang of and you came so close on a second attempt,” He said looking just as surprised as Hanji.

“If only it was that easy for the other half of my power,” I mumbled before covering my mouth realizing I had said that out loud.

Hanji just gave me a pat on the shoulder, “you’ll get the hang of it eventually. Don’t think that just because this half of your power comes so easy that the other should too. Usually, powers especially when they have opposite attributes will be harder to learn for a person.”

“What do you mean?” I asked and she paused for a moment to think of what seems like an explanation.

“Well, say someone had both Jean’s fire powers and Marco’s water powers,” she started, “one of those is bound to come easier than the other, and the other would be difficult to learn since they are polar opposites.”

“It’s not always as extreme as that though,” Erwin jumped in, “take me for example. I was able to pick up on my teleportation and portals way easier than I was my astral projection. Because those two powers are very similar and are more physical based than astral projection which is more mental based.”

“Or even just Jean or just Marco,” Hanji said with a smile. “Jean has both fire powers and steam powers. Fire and steam are two different aspects. Marco can control water and Ice. Which are two very different things. He was more comfortable with the liquid form than the solidified form so Ice was harder for him to learn.” She said before looking to me.

“So it’s no wonder you are having trouble despite your power being one thing an aspect of it is bound to be harder than the other since,” Erwin nodded.

“You’re really good at the light and weightless part because it’s what you are used to,” Hanji started.

“Not only that but since your powers are strongly linked to your emotions at the moment it’s easy to want to work on the power you've related with positive emotions despite the ones related to negative,“ Erwin continued.

Everything they had said was starting to click. I mean I knew I was having trouble with that power, but it helps to know why. Not only do I have less experience which I already figured to be the case, but I'm subconsciously linking it with negative feelings so I’m already setting myself up to fail by feeling more negative emotions to brace for working with the power.

“Well, we can try again with the book since I’m pretty sure you will get it this time,” Hanji said picking the book off the floor.

I nodded and sure enough this time I stopped the book a little above my hand. It was still a good 4 inches from my hand, but it was pretty close. I watched Erwin look at the time. “Now, we could start working on the other half of your powers, or we could save them for next time?” He asked.

“Could we save them for next time?” I asked, “it feels nice to end off on a win,” I said looking at the book that was just floating above my hand.

“Okay, sounds good, just remember what we told you about those powers,” he smiled.

“Yeah, and remember that with practice anything can be achieved,” Hanji said happily.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said before smiling. I looked down at the book before letting it plop back down in my hand and handing it back to Hanji. They dismissed me and I headed back into the room.

I took a seat next to Levi and before I could even say anything he was called outside. It makes sense since they wanted to call him out before me. I just laid my head on the desk determined to stay awake at least until he returned so I could tell him how it went. It didn’t work out. Not even a minute after he walked out the door my eyes had closed and my consciousness faded away.

 

I headed out of the room. I wasn’t able to ask Eren how it went, but he seemed happy when he walked in. When the door closed I instantly asked Hanji and Erwin how it went. They told me it went well and that they gave him a win on accident. They quickly explained what they told him and that the message actually seemed to get through to him this time that his powers would take more work.

“Anyway, we can talk more about that later,” Erwin cut us off checking the time, “we have to do your lesson now. Today we will be going over specifically your mind reading.”

“Okay,” I nodded, “how are we going to try this time,” I asked since the last thing we tried didn’t work.

“Well, we know your powers work more on proximity,” Hanji said before taking a few steps back, “but we also know that you can now focus your ability on a person even if they aren’t the closest person next to you.

“However, we also know that if the person in close proximity to you is thinking about you your thoughts switch to theirs automatically,” Erwin said and I gave him a confused look.

“Wait they do?” I asked confused about how they know that since I hadn’t even realized that.

“Yup, we learned that during a teacher meeting,” Hanji smiled, “We all put our notes together and we noticed a common thing. Apparently it has to do a lot with proximity. You only seem to do it if the person is like right next to you, but other times it’s a fifty-fifty chance.

“We have a few things we wanted to work on. First, we want to see if we can get you to stay focused on a person’s thoughts even while someone is thinking of you right next to you. Next, we want to see how long you can stay focused on a person’s thoughts and how far that person can walk before you aren’t able to hear that person’s thoughts anymore. Lastly the usual,” Erwin shrugged.

“Seeing if you can focus on your own thoughts and tune out others around you so you gain more control over the mind-reading,” Hanji said.

We tried the first experiment. My thoughts each time would be pulled to Erwin despite me trying to focus on Hanji. One of the times I managed to listen to both even though that wasn’t my intent. “Well, we can move on since this doesn’t seem to be working,” Erwin suggested.

“No, I want to keep trying,” I said taking a deep breath and trying to clear my mind. It took a few more tries before I was able to ignore Erwin’s thoughts fully and only hear Hanji's. I could still faintly hear Erwin’s in the back of my head but not enough to know what he was saying.

After that, we moved on to the next challenge. I stayed focused on Hanji’s thoughts as she slowly took a step backward. I was standing on one end of a measuring tape while she was holding the other end. She was a good 20 feet away from me when I started having trouble reading her thoughts. They were coming through awfully quiet. By the time she was 25 feet away her thoughts had completely disappeared from my head.

“That's better than the last time,” Hanji said excitedly from down the hall. “Last time it was 15 feet,” she said before holding it out for Erwin who pulled a marker out of his pocket and marking the length with an L for me.

“You’re definitely improving there,” Erwin smiled as they walked back so they weren’t yelling from down the hall.

“Alright,” Hanji sighed, “this one is hard, but let's give it a shot,” she said.

The rest of the time was spent with me struggling to tune out their thoughts and focus on mine. It didn’t work. As hard as I tried I couldn’t focus on my own. It’s like every time I tried to focus on my own thoughts mine would disappear and theirs would come through even louder.

“Well, two out of three ain't bad,” Hanji said patting me on the shoulder.

“One day I’ll get it,” I sighed. I knew I didn’t sound very convinced, but oh well.

“Maybe next time, but good work today,” Erwin said patting my back. They dismissed me back to class and I walked in to see Eren peacefully sleeping at the desk. Well, there’s a good sign.


	61. Hot-Headed

After a while, people moved around the room. Sasha came over and sat on my desk being careful not to wake Eren up. Connie did the same to Jean and Marco’s desk. Mikasa and Armin just brought some chairs over next to us.

They all just talked quietly for the rest of the class. I half paid attention to their conversations and half just focused on Eren. He was sleeping peacefully for the most part, but every once and a while is dreams would take a darker turn. I held his hand and every time his dreams started to twist I would give it a light squeeze and would use my other hand to rub his back lightly.

By the time class was almost over his dreams had changed completely for the better. It was weird seeing my face pop up in his dreams, but I couldn’t help but smile a little at how excited he was seeing me in his dreams. Then again emotions in dreams are weird.

The teachers came back in and dismissed the class a few minutes early. I looked down at Eren and was about to wake him up but I ended up stopping myself.

Sasha had hopped off the desk and looked back at me before asking, “You coming? Or are we eating lunch in here?”

“We’re eating in here,” Jean said before kneeling down in front of our table and putting his elbows on the table and resting his head in his hands looking at Eren with a little smile. “He’s in a really deep sleep,” he pointed out before looking up at me, “you guys must have had fun last night,” he teased.

“Not even a little,” I said rubbing the back of my neck. “Wasn’t the good kinda sleepless night.”

“Oh,” Jean said instantly standing up and mumble an apology.

“It’s okay, it wasn’t exactly anything too bad just something that made him restless,” I said giving a quick explanation without saying too much in case Eren didn’t want people to know exactly what happened.

“Are you going to let him sleep through lunch?” Marco asked changing the subject.

“Yeah, he needs the rest.”

“Alright, we’ll try to keep it down,” Sash smiled, “I'll be back Imma go get some lunch.” When everyone left for lunch the room was quiet. Hanji and Erwin were at the front talking but other than that the room was silent.

I just looked down at Eren who was sleeping peacefully. Just looking at him made me tired. I wanted nothing more than to just curl up next to him. I might have gotten more sleep than him last night, but I could feel his restlessness all night and it definitely kept me tossing and turning.

I just laid my head on the desk and scooted up against him and let my eyes close. A little nap won’t hurt.

 

I walked into the room to an unusual sight. Not only was Eren asleep, but now Levi was asleep too. I looked at Sasha and the others who were talking quite loudly as they approached the class. I walked out and stopped them at the door. “If you wake them I’ll roast you alive,” I said staring at Sasha especially since she has trouble controlling her volume at times.

“Babe,” Marco whispered to try and calm me down, “no need to roast anyone,” he said taking my hand. His hand was cold to the touch compared to mine which was usually hot. I felt my hand cool down past its normal temperature. A chill ran down my spine and it calmed me instantly.

“Yeah, Jean chill we aren’t going to wake them, we know they are tired,” Sasha said and I nodded before letting them into the room. I let everyone else go in first Marco and I were the last to enter. We stayed in the door since I could tell Marco wanted to talk to me when he took both my hands in his.

“You’re awfully hot-headed today,” he shook his head with a small smile.

“Aren’t I always,” I laughed, “it’s what you love about me.”

“Sometimes,” he smiled. “So what’s got your blood boiling anyway?”

“Ya know that’s the fun part about heat powers, my blood is always boiling, quite literally,” I shrugged off his comment knowing he would ask again.

“You know what I mean,” Marco shook his head, “you’re feistier than normal, and that's saying something,” he raised an eyebrow.

“Well,” I let out a little sigh not really wanting to talk about this, “I don’t know, there are a few things that just feel, well, wrong.”

“What do you mean by wrong?” he asked.

“That's the thing, I don’t know.”

“Well, can you try and explain what is feeling wrong?” Marco asked giving my hands a light squeeze.

“Well, the first thing is that ever since Levi told us about his power I’ve felt weird,” I let out a sign not knowing how to explain it.

“What do you mean by weird? Are you uncomfortable about his power?”

“No, I just, I don’t know how to explain it.” I said taking a moment to try and process my thoughts and feelings into words, “I guess knowing his powers now I can’t help but feel worried for him. I mean you felt it right? I know I wasn’t the only one feeling the amount of fear radiating off of him when he told us about his powers. I don’t even think he noticed he was radiating that fear, but I did. What made him so scared to tell us? What is he afraid of? I guess I'm just worried because it seems like someone made him feel like he needed to be afraid to be himself.”

I took a deep breath before looking at Marco who was looking at the ground. The look on his face told me that he was putting the pieces together. “You’re right, I didn’t think much of it at first, but now that you mention it he did seem really worried.”

“Yeah, so I guess I’m just being overprotective, but I don’t like knowing that my friend is afraid to be himself,” I sighed, “and then there is this other feeling that I just can’t place.” I sighed. “It’s making me anxious and I guess it’s putting me on edge.”

“What’s that?” Marco asked his fingers caressing my hand.

“I don’t know how to describe it aside from this feeling of pure dread. I don’t know why I’m feeling it and I can’t push it away, but the last few days I just get this feeling of impending doom and I can't shake it.” I took a deep breath, but it felt like there was a weight on my chest. It felt like barely any air would enter my lungs. “It’s just hard to breathe because this feeling is weighing on me so much and I don’t know what to do.”

“Have you talked to Levi?” Marco asked and I instantly gave him a confused look.

“No, why?”

“Maybe it’s not your emotions you’re feeling?” He asked.

“No, I’ve already thought about that,” I let out a sigh, “the first time I felt it I was alone. The next time I felt it was last night in our dorm, and it hasn’t left since.”

“Oh, well, maybe you should still talk to him, maybe he’s felt your emotions and can help you figure out why you’re feeling that,” Marco suggested.

I took a moment to think about it. “You have a point there.” I mean if I did talk to him about it I wouldn’t have to explain the feeling since he would be able to feel it and who knows maybe he might be able to help. “I’ll ask him about it later, but right now it looks like I have to roast Connie alive.” I pulled my hands out of Marco’s and quickly headed to the group.

Connie’s voice was getting too loud and I quickly walked up to him and grabbed his shirt, before my other hand was fully engulfed in flames. “If you don’t want all your skin to melt off your body I would suggest shutting the fuck up,” I said and Connie quickly gave an apologetic nod.

“I’ll quiet down,” he said with a sheepish smile.

“You better. That was your warning, there better not be a next time,” I said and he nodded. I took a seat in the chair closest to Eren and Levi so I could keep an eye on them and make sure that they didn’t start to stir because of the noise level. Marco took a seat next to me and held my hand.

“That was awfully violent,” he said leaning his head on my shoulder.

“Hey at least I gave him a warning,” I said with a slight shrug. “I could have just liquified him.”

“How about we don’t do that,” he said before whispering in my ear, “We could cool down instead,” his breath was freezing on my neck I shivered as it cooled my body temperature. He placed a kiss on my neck and I didn’t think it was possible to freeze and melt all at once, but I swear that’s what I just did.

“God I love you,” I said and Marco just smile.d

“I love you too babe.”


	62. Dread

I opened my eyes to a bright room and small chatter. I sat up realizing I had actually fallen asleep in the damn classroom. I looked around to make sure it wasn’t too late.

“Shit, Connie didn’t wake you did he?” Jean asked before shooting Connie a death glare as a flame appeared in his hand. “I told him three times to quiet down,” Jean said rather frustrated.

“What, no,” I said sitting up and rubbing my eyes. Well, it was still lunchtime. I looked next to me and saw Eren was still sleeping peacefully. Good, he really needed to rest. I looked at the time and saw lunch was nearly over.

“Oh thank god I get to live another day,” Connie said breathing a sigh of relief.

“Not if you don’t quiet down Eren is still sleeping jackass,” Jean growled trying to keep his voice down.

“Sorry,” Connie quickly said sitting down with an awkward laugh.

I just shook it off and looked around the room. It was really quiet despite how many people were in here. I took a moment to blink a few more times trying to wake up fully and get my vision to actually focus on something.

My thoughts snapped to Marco’s thoughts upon hearing my name. Well, shit now I’m aware of this and it’s annoying. I shook my head to try and ignore them and focus back on Eren until I heard the context of his thought.

I should get Jean to talk to Levi now that he’s awake. He thought. Oh shit, wait did I do something wrong? Why does Jean need to talk to me? I watched as Marco tapped on Jean’s shoulder and Jean turned to face him.

“You should talk to Levi now,” Marco whispered. God, I hate eavesdropping, but sometimes with my power, it’s hard not to.

“But, who will keep them quiet?” Jean asked looking back at the rest of the group.

“I’ll remind them to keep their voices down,” Marco said calmly.

“Fine,” Jean sighed before looking up at me. I looked away, well shit I think I just got busted for listening in.

He walked over to me before nervously rubbing at the back of his neck, “Hey um, do you mind if we talk outside?” He asked.

“Okay,” I said standing up as quietly as possible to try not to wake Eren.

We went to walk out of the class, but Jean turned back around before we left, “I’m stepping out for a moment, but Marco said he was going to drown anyone who is too loud,” Jean said looking specifically at Connie.

I looked at Marco whose thoughts I had to smile at. I said no such thing he thought rolling his eyes and smiling. We walked out of the room and the door closed behind us.

“So um, Marco said I should talk to you about something and I’m not really sure what to say,” Jean said awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. “Actually this is stupid,” he shook his head before turning back to the door.

“Hey, wait,” I said grabbing his arm. He stopped and turned back around, “you can talk to me,” I said giving him a smile.

“I know, I just don’t know what to say.” He let out a big sigh before leaning up against the wall. “I’ve been feeling this weird feeling for these last few days and I don’t know where it’s coming from or why I’m feeling it, but it’s stressing me out. I was just wondering if you knew anything about it since well feelings are your thing.” He asked nervously.

“Um okay,” I said trying to process what he had said. It seems I’m not as awake as I thought I was. It took a moment for my brain to catch up with my ears. “So you’re feeling something and want to know what you’re feeling?” I asked trying to see if I heard him right.

“I mean,” he paused for a moment before letting out a sigh, “yes.” He shook his head, “see I said it was stupid you can just forget this happened I’ll-,” he started turning back to the classroom.

“Hey don’t put words in my mouth,” I said quickly, “it’s not stupid I’m just trying to understand what you are asking since I’m still half asleep here,” I explained and I watched him turn back around.

“Sorry,” he said quietly.

“Anyway, are you feeling the emotion right now?” I asked not really feeling anything radiating off of him.

“Kinda, it’s not as strong as it was before, but probably since I’ve shoved the feeling away and tried to ignore it,” Jean said awkwardly.

“Okay, well for me to feel whatever you are feeling you can’t be pushing it away,” I said and he nodded before closing his eyes.

I instantly felt the blood drain from my face as a chill ran down my spine. I was consumed by this feeling that I recognized all too much. Dread, pure dread. A few days ago I wouldn’t have been as phased as I was now. However, just the other day this same feeling ran through me. The same feeling I had felt all those years ago the night Isabel died. Here it was again, not from me this time, but from Jean. It can’t be a coincidence that I felt this feeling a few days ago and now he’s feeling it. Something’s coming. Right? It can’t be a coincidence. Whatever is coming, I need to be ready, maybe this time I’ll actually be able to do something to stop whatever this is.

“Um, Levi? Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” He said rubbing the back of his neck.

“Oh, um sorry,” I said awkwardly realizing I had froze up and was just staring at him in horror. “It’s just I was feeling this emotion the other day,” I said before taking a deep breath trying to calm my nerves.

“Really?” Jean asked shocked.

“Yeah, I don’t know what's causing it, but I can’t help but feel like something bad is coming,” I said before taking another deep breath. Shit, the last thing I needed to do was panic him. “It could be nothing though. I mean anxiety can cause that feeling too,” I said trying not to be too negative. I mean it’s true anxiety could be the culprit but I highly doubt it.

“I don’t think so, I’ve been feeling this on and off for a few days now, and I’m only anxious after I start feeling it not before,” he said and I nodded.

“I was afraid of that,” I mumbled to myself, “I don’t know why you are feeling it, but I sure know this feeling and the last time I felt it before recently something bad happened.”

“What happened?” Jean asked desperately.

“You’re not going to like it.”

 

I heard a loud thump and sat up looking around the room quickly. The light burned my eyes and everything was blurry and my head was pounding.

“Good going Connie, Jean’s going to murder you,” I think that was Sasha’s voice. I brought a hand up to my head and just held it there my head was spinning and everything was so bright. I opened my eyes and blinked for a minute until they adjusted to the light.

“Shit, I’m so sorry Eren I didn’t mean to wake you please don’t tell Jean,” Connie quickly stammered out. “I’ll just have to outrun him forever.”

It was lunch? I took a look at the clock. Lunch was over? Levi never woke me? I looked next to me to chew him out for not waking me, but the seat next to me was empty.

“If you’re looking for Levi he’s in the hallway. Jean wanted to talk to him about something,” Marco said calmly.

“Oh,” I said the only word that my brain could form.

The door opened up and Levi and Jean came back in. Jean looked... angry? No, that’s not it. He looked like he was death staring the ground, but at the same time, he seemed a million miles away.

Levi’s face was unreadable and just blank. I watched Levi nudge Jean. He snapped back to reality and looked dead at me. I was about to as what he was looking at before his head snapped to Connie.

“Did you fucking wake him!” he snarled.

“Shit,” was all Connie said before vanishing. The door to the room was still in the process of closing and it’s the only thing that gave away to us what had happened.

“Ugh, I’m going to melt him later,” Jean growled before slumping down in a chair. He seemed a little more tense than usual. He just leaned his head on Marco’s shoulder and I turned my head to Levi who took a seat next to me.

“What’s going on?” I managed to ask trying to get my brain working again since it was still in sleep mode.

“Don’t worry about it,” Levi smiled before holding my hand in his. He gave my hand a tight squeeze and I could tell something was off. There was just this feeling in the air. Something felt off, were they hiding something? I could tell that Jean looked more stressed than normal, and now that I’m looking at Levi I can see his muscles are stiffer his eyes are looking around the room more. He has his guard up. Something is definitely going on.

Levi just le tout a sigh before I realized he’s listening to my thoughts. “We can talk about it later, but right now I just need to watch for something,” he said taking a deep breath before looking around the room. His hand held mine with a firm grip and he never let go. It was almost as if he was afraid to lose me.

I looked back over to Jean and I could see he was holding Marco’s hand with the same despairing feeling flowing through him. His eyes were also darting from person to person like he was watching each and every single one of us.

The last time I saw Levi act even remotely like this was during the power trigger lesson when he was worried about-. I looked up at Levi knowing he was listening to my thoughts. My eyes begged him to tell me I was on the wrong track with my thoughts. To tell me I was wrong. He never did. He just kept his eyes away from mine and kept his head up looking from person to person for something. Anything.

“Later,” he said giving my hand a tight squeeze. I opened my mouth to say something but took a deep breath and closed it again. If he says we will talk about it later I believe him. I just need to be patient and let him do what he needs.


	63. Duplicate

The bell rang and we all headed to our next class. Levi and I fell behind the group. His hand held mine tight and when we had fallen far enough behind he stopped walking.

“Look, I know you’re worried and confused, but honestly, I myself don’t even know what’s going on,” he let out a sigh. “I’ve had a bad feeling for a while now, and Jean came to me saying he’s having the same bad feeling. That can’t be a coincidence, right?” Levi asked his other hand was fidgeting with the bottom of his shirt his fingers anxiously twisting the fabric. “The last time I felt this emotion was the night Isabel died, so I can’t help but think that something bad is coming.”

“I see,” I said starting to understand the sense of panic. It also helped that I could feel the panic radiating off of him. “So you’re worried someone might be in danger?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know from what. Is it something preventable, or is it something totally random, or is it just nothing at all and I’m losing my mind?” Levi started to pace as his panic increased. “I mean is someone planning on killing themselves? I can try and prevent that I can look out for that and at least try to help. What if it was just an accident, I don’t know what if someone gets struck by lightning or something. How am I going to be able to prevent that?” I watched as he started to spiral right in front of me. “What if-,” I had to cut him off.

“Babe,” I said calmly getting him to snap out of his rambling, “look I know you’re worried, but this isn't going to help,” I said taking both his hands in mine. “Look out for what you can. If it’s something preventable then we will find out what it is and stop it. If it’s not, then promise me you won’t blame yourself,” I said, knowing exactly how he is.

“But-.”

“No buts. If it’s not preventable then it’s not your fault.” I said squeezing his hands. “I know you want to protect everyone, but sometimes you can’t.” I know first hand that sometimes you can be doing everything right and sometimes you still lose the people closest to you.

“Okay,” Levi said quietly before taking a calming breath, “sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up any bad memories,” he whispered. He must have heard me thinking about my mom.

“It’s fine,” I smiled before looking him in the eyes. “We will face whatever this is together. You keep watch over everyone mentally and I’ll watch body language okay?”

He nodded, “Jean’s also looking out for any concerning signs.”

“Good.” We will need all the help we can get with this.

We started making our way back to the next class. Surprisingly we weren’t late, but we did get a few weird looks from our friends who had realized we had disappeared for a few minutes on the way to the class. We took out seats and I saw Levi pull out his headphones.

“I’m a little overwhelmed and I need a few minutes to calm down, After I get my thoughts cleared I’ll be able to focus more on everyone else's.” He said before slipping them in. I just held his hand and gave him a smile. I’m glad he was taking care of himself before tackling this. Sometimes you have to help yourself before you can help others. I’m glad he’s starting to see that.

I took this chance to let my thoughts free for a second. Levi managed to calm down a little with the help of his music, but I could tell he was still really worried, and honestly so was I. Just the thought of losing someone scared me, but I have to keep my head up. I have to be the voice of reason. I know if I’m not, then no one will be.

I kept an eye out on the class everyone pretty much looked normal, well as normal as I think they are. Then again I never really look around the class that often. It didn’t take long for Eld and Mike to come in and greet the class.

“Good afternoon,” Mike said giving us all a smile. He took role before starting off the class. “I’m sure Hanji and Erwin told you what we are all doing now,” Mike said before looking to Eld. Levi pulled out his headphones as they were taking role. He was more focused on the class rather than what the teachers were saying.

“Will our student-teacher come up and join us,” Eld said softly. Nothing happened for a moment and then we heard it.

“Oh shit that’s me,” Sasha said before awkwardly standing up and walking to the front. “Sorry I forgot for a minute,” she laughed as she joined them at the front of the room.

“Sasha will be telling you all about her power,” Eld smiled giving her a smile before the teachers stepped out of her way.

“Alright, hey everyone. I’m sure you all know my power by now,” Sasha said as she stretched her back. “Actually, I don’t feel like explaining my power,” she said and the teachers gave her a confused look as she smiled. “So I’m going to have her do it,” she said before splitting into two.

“Awe do I have to,” the second Sasha said with a playful pout.

“Yup,” she said before leaning back and letting her double do the work for her.

“Well,” The double started talking, “I can control everything that these duplicates say and do, and before you ask, yes I was essentially having conversations with myself. Sometimes you just need to talk to yourself,” Both Sashas laughed. “So I can see everything she sees and I can hear everything she hears. However-” she paused.

Sasha spoke up next, “can I call up a volunteer for this next part? She asked turning towards the teachers asking permission.

“Sure I don’t see why not,” Mike shrugged.

“Perfect,” Sasha’s double said before pointing to Jean, “do you mind helping me out?”

He just shrugged and stood up, “what do you need me to do?” He asked.

“I need you to burn me,” Sasha number two said with a big smile.

“What the hell no,” Jean said shaking his head.

“Please, just pretend I’m Connie,” She said and Jean looked back at Connie before looking at Sasha’s double. “Fine, but if you get hurt it’s not my fault,” he looked nervous and I felt myself nearly stand up in my chair to stop this. That was until I saw Mike start to walk forward and Eld put his hand out to stop him allowing Sasha to go through with this.

If the teacher is okay with this then how bad can it be? I just pray this isn’t the incident that Levi and Jean were getting bad feelings from. I looked at Levi and he seemed totally fine with this. Maybe he knows something I don’t?

Jean’s hand engulfed in fire and he clenched his eyes shut as he grabbed the doubles arm. A scream rang out in the classroom. Jean nearly jumped back and everyone was worried but before anyone could say or do anything else Sasha burst out laughing causing the double to laugh too. “Only kidding,” she said. “I can’t feel anything the duplicates feel, and they can’t feel anything. I mean I can make them look like they are feeling stuff like I did just there but in actuality, they don’t feel anything.” She smiled.

Jean just glared at her he looked so pissed off at her. “You can burn her again,” she said. He hesitated but did so anyway. This time the double just looked down at the fire engulfing her arm and looked unphased. Her skin didn’t even look burned.

“So ask you can see the fire isn’t actually doing anything to the double, but if I think hard enough I can make it look like it is. She said before closing her eyes and really focusing. Before we knew it the skin started to burn on the double’s arm however the double still remained unphased.

“This part of my power is new and takes a lot of focus, but I’m getting there,” Sasha said before thanking Jean. Jean took his seat muttering some curses under his breath as he did.

After a moment the damaged parts of the double returned to normal and Sasha shrugged. “I’m still learning,” she shrugged it off with an awkward laugh. “Also, I personally can make up to ten duplicates of myself.” She said before doing so.

“Now as you can see most of these duplicates have their eyes closed,” She said pointing to them. Only the first duplicate that was talking before had its eyes open.

“Now this is because I can easily get a headache if too many of them are looking around at once since I can see what they see. It gets very overwhelming. I can also hear everything they hear which can get overwhelming too but at the moment it just sounds kinda normal since they are all listening to the same thing.”

One by one they all disappeared aside from the one that was there before. “Any questions so far?” She asked and a few hands raised.

I looked to Levi who seemed more focused on a different person. What’s up? I thought before leaning closer to him to hear his response.

“Eld’s thoughts seem darker than normal,” he whispered. “Normally he has some depressing thoughts here and there, but so far he’s had more than usual.

Wait this whole time I was thinking it must be a student. I didn’t even realize that the teachers could be in danger. What’s he thinking. I thought to Levi.

“A lot of self-hatred and just bad thoughts in general.”

I took a deep breath before trying to think about this. How are we going to talk to him about this can we even talk to him about this? I mean isn’t he going to ask why Levi’s snooping around in people’s heads? What if-.

“Eren control your thoughts,” Levi said rubbing his head probably since all the thoughts that just flooded through my mind gave him a headache. “I’m just going to ask him if he’s okay. I’ll tell him that I overheard what he was thinking on accident and just wanted to make sure he’s okay.” Levi said calmly. “I'm going to wait until class is over though since he’s going to be busy with lessons.”

Oh, that sounds reasonable. I thought before giving him an awkward smile. So much for being the voice of reason. I shook my head.

Levi just raised an eyebrow before we both turned our heads to the front as Eld started talking.

“Thank you, Sasha, for that very educational, and very entertaining display of your powers,” he said giving her a smile before letting Mike take over.

“Alright as for lessons. Hanji and Erwin passed down the list of students they believe need joint lessons this week. We will be taking those students first. After we finish them we will call out the rest of you and you can tell us which one you would rather have a lesson with.


	64. Catching Up

The lessons went by quickly. Eren made it through his without a problem since they stuck to just focusing on the easier side of his power rather than the other half. Towards the end of class, I found myself just staring at the clock and I could tell Eren was doing the same. I had asked to speak with Eld after class during my own joint lesson. So it was just a matter of time before the bell rang and we figured out what was going on.

The bell rang and I stood up. I looked at Eren and he nodded, “I’ll wait for you in the dorm room,” he said before giving me a kiss on the cheek. He didn’t want to get in the way of our talking. He wanted to give Eld his privacy, and I promised to fill him in after. I waited for the room to clear I stayed in my seat and Eld walked over as the rest of the room cleared out.

“You wanted to talk to me?” He gave me a kind smile as he sat down. There was a sadness behind his eyes that wasn’t there before. “Is everything okay?” He asked. He thought I was coming to him for advice or help when in reality I was coming to help him.

“With me, yes, with you it seems not,” I said before putting a hand on his shoulder. “What’s been going on? Are you okay?”

“Oh,” he mumbled quietly. “Sorry about that. I don’t know what you heard, but it’s nothing I plan on acting on or anything like that,” he let out a little sigh before realizing he was going to have to explain himself. “I’ve been going through a rough patch the last few days. My aunt passed away a few days ago and it’s been hard on me.” He took a deep breath before giving me a smile, “I’m really sorry to have worried you, but I’ll be okay. Thank you for checking in on me.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your aunt,” I could tell he genuinely meant what he was saying. I could hear his thoughts clearer now. The self-hatred fell away and all that was left was grief and mourning. “She must have been a lovely woman.”

“She was the best,” Eld smiled, “she was like a mom to me,” he said before stopping himself. “Sorry, I don’t mean to talk your ear off. I’ll be okay,” he smiled before starting to get up.

“Um, Eld?” I said before he could stand up. “Could you tell me about her?” I asked. I knew he could see right through me. He obviously needed to talk about her and get some of this grief off his shoulders.

He smiled anyway and gave me a soft smile, “are you sure?” he asked and I nodded. “Okay,” he cleared his throat. “Well, she was there when no one else was. She was very kind and caring. She took me in after my parents lost custody.”

“What happened with your parents?” I asked before I could stop myself.

“Oh, they were abusive,” he said calmly. It threw me off guard for a moment with how calm he was say it. “They used to beat the hell out of me if I ever made a sound. One day I guess the stress and the trauma all got to me and caused my power to trigger. I called the police and when they got there I made them confess everything,” he rubbed the back of his neck nervously before blinking a few times. He shook his head a little and got back on track with what he was saying.

“She took me in without question despite me never really knowing she existed before then since my parents isolated themselves from everyone else. When I was brought to her I was too traumatized to speak. I was conditioned into thinking that talking meant getting hurt. She didn’t force me to speak if I didn’t feel like it instead she taught me sign language,” he smiled at the thought. I still use it most of the time, especially when I get overwhelmed or anxious.”

“Sounds like she was a very understanding person,” I said giving him a smile.

“She really was.”

“If you don’t mind me asking how did she pass?” I asked not knowing if the question would help or hurt.

“She went peacefully. She had a heart condition for a while and she passed in her sleep.” He said looking down to the table, “at least she’s not in pain anymore. I know she’s watching over me, Ymir told me,” he laughed an awkward sad laugh. “Even knowing that I still can’t help but feel like I could have done more despite knowing there was nothing I could do,” he let out a sigh before patting me on my shoulder.

“I’ll be okay, thank you for listening,” he said with a smile that wasn’t as sad as it was before. “I just need to mourn a little and I’ll be okay but I’ll try to keep my thoughts in check from now on. Grief makes you slip into old habits, bad habits. Mine just happens to be bad thoughts.”

“Just know I’m always free if you ever need to talk,” I said giving him a smile as we both stood up. I gave him a hug and thanked him for talking with me. I headed out of the room, but not before hearing his thoughts. They had changed from self-hate to remembering happy memories with his aunt.

I headed back to the dorm as I checked the time. I had enough time to change before meeting up with Isabel’s mom. When I made it to my dorm I opened the door to see Eren and Jean sitting in there. They both stood up when I walked in.

“Is Eld okay? Eren told me you thought something might be wrong with him?” Jean said desperately.

“Eld’s okay, he’s mourning a family member so his thoughts are a little more blue than normal,” I said filling them in without sharing too much information.

“Do you think he was the reason we were feeling that dread?” Jean asked.

“I don’t know,” I said thinking about it. I felt like that was too easy. Besides Eld had said he never planned to do anything bad no matter how many thoughts popped into his head. Could we be feeling such dread for a false alarm? Or was it a false alarm? My head was spinning with my own thoughts. I didn’t have time to figure things out at the moment.

“I think we should still watch out just in case, but who knows, maybe that was all it was,” I said trying not to worry them.

“Okay,” Jean took a deep calming breath. “Well, at least we can check a person off,” he said giving me a smile as he tried to desperately remain positive.

He headed back to his dorm and I grabbed some clothes and headed into the bathroom. After I got changed I checked my phone sending a text to see if we were still meeting at the time she had said. As I waited for a reply I walked back out to Eren who was sitting on his bed.

His head swayed back and forth ever so slightly as his eyes remained unfocused. He let out a yawn and shook his head a little as he fought off his own tiredness.

“You should get some rest,” I said walking over and placing a kiss on his lips.

“I’m not even that-” his own yawn cut him off “-tired.” He finished unconvincingly. I heard my phone buzz and decided to ignore it for the moment.

“Of course you’re not,” I rolled my eyes and gave him a smile. “I’m going to be heading out anyway might as well get some rest. I’ll join you when I get back.”

“I’ll just wait for you to come back,” he said and I shook my head.

“You need sleep,” I leaned closer to whisper in his ear, “and maybe after we get back from the field tonight then we can have some fun,” I said nipping at his ear. “But you have to get some rest.”

He instantly laid down, “sold,” he mumbled before letting his eyes close.

“Hey wait brat, at least take off your shoes,” I rolled my eyes. My complaining was useless he was asleep the second his head hit the pillow. He really was exhausted. I just smiled before sliding his shoes off of him and setting them down on the floor. I laid some covers over him and placed a kiss on his head before pulling my phone out.

Looks like we are still on for the same time and now I’m running a few minutes late. I texted her back and let her know I might be a few minutes late since I was putting my sleep-deprived roommate to bed.

She texted back telling me that I’m such a good friend. Well, I mean friend isn’t exactly the right word, but I don’t think I want to drop that bomb on her just yet.

I headed to the little cafe and walked in. I looked around for a minute before seeing her at a table. She smiled the second she saw me before waving me over. I awkwardly felt my muscles stiffen up. As much as I was happy to see her, I couldn’t help but feel awkward. I took a deep breath and walked over to her.

She instantly stood up and gave me a hug. I felt my muscles relax as the hug brought me back to memories of better times. Everything just felt right. Her hugs always made me feel safe back then and that same feeling came just as easily as it used too.

“I missed you so much sweetie,” she said before letting me go and looking at me with the proudest smile, “look at how grown you are.”

“I missed you too,” I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading over my face. We both took a seat at the table and ordered some drinks and some finger foods as we talked.

“So tell me about your life. How’s school going? Have you made any friends?” She asked before shaking her head. “Sorry I don’t mean to bombard you with questions.”

“It’s fine,” I laughed, “Um life’s going good, school’s good. For the longest time, it was really hard to make friends again, but recently I met this one person and once we became friends before I knew it I had more friends than I could count on one hand.” I smiled.

“Oh tell me about them,” she said happily.

“Um well, there’s Marco, he’s really nice and is one of the more tame people in the friend group. There’s Jean, he’s got a bit of a temper, but he cares in his own weird way. There’s Armin who is really shy, a bit gullible, but he means well. There’s Mikasa who is always trying to include everyone. There’s Annie who kinda reminds me of myself in the way that she’s still trying to learn how to be friends with people again, but she’s getting there she’s actually starting to talk and interact with us. There’s Sasha and Connie who are both lunatics.”

I looked up at her and she had the biggest smile on her face. I saved the best for last. “Lastly, there’s Eren, he’s the one who caused me to open up to begin with. He is the most annoying person on earth, but I would be lost without him.” I said the smile on my face growing.

“Sounds like you really care about these people,” she said with a big smile. “I’m so glad to hear that you’ve made new friends. I know it must have been hard moving on and doing it alone. I’m really sorry I wasn’t there for you,” she said, putting her hand on mine.

“It’s okay, I mean, I should have reached out to you,” I started but she cut me off.

“No, with how I left things I don’t blame you for not. I needed something to blame and I took it out on you instead of facing the reality that throwing around blame solves nothing.” She lowered her head in shame and I felt guilt radiating off of her.

“Well, the past is the past,” I smiled, placing a hand on hers, “dwelling on the past will solve nothing, but what matters now is that we are okay now,” I said and she smiles.

I asked her about her life. She told me a little about her job she told me how she got a promotion and how she’s been doing better recently. She told me that when she saw my text she cried because she had been checking her phone every night for years hoping that I would text her eventually.

“So, I never did get to understand your powers,” she said awkwardly. She was thinking this might be a sore subject with me but I don’t really mind as much, especially since she seems to genuinely want to know everything she’s missed out on.

I told her the bare bones of my abilities. I told her what I can do, but now how uncontrollable these powers can be. She nodded and asked a few questions. So are you learning a lot about your powers in the school?” She asked and I felt myself think about it.

“Well, I’ve learned a lot from the teachers, but I’m learning a lot with the help of one person specifically,” I said letting a smile slip onto my face before forcing it back.

“Oh a special someone,” she said catching onto my smile. Oh shit. “Tell me about her,” she said leaning forward.

Well here goes nothing I guess. “Him actually,” I said awkwardly.

“Him?” she said before thinking a little, “oh okay,” she said as a smile returned to her face, “is it that Eren kid you had talked about earlier?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?” I asked and she smiled.

“You had such a love-struck look in your eyes. I wasn’t sure about it until I saw it again just now.”

“Love-struck?” I mumbled awkwardly. We haven’t even said the word love yet. “I don’t know about that, but I do really like him,” I said and she smiled so wide.

“I’m so proud my baby has found someone special,” she gushed.

I couldn’t help but smile. If only my own mother would be this supportive. I swear every time I say anything about me being bisexual she rolls in her grave. God forbid my uncle ever heard any of this he would come back from the dead and slit my throat.

We talked a little while longer and we decided to meet up again on Sunday, I asked her if it would be okay to bring Eren. She nearly squealed. “I would love to meet your boyfriend,” she said happily.

“Thanks, mom,” I said before stopping. I had slipped back into old habits. We all used to call each other’s parents mom and dad like they were our own and it just came out. There was an apology ready on my tongue. She sat there frozen for a moment a smile spread across her face.

“It’s been a while since I’ve heard anyone call me that,” she said before getting up and hugging me. We said our goodbyes and I didn’t want her to leave. I felt myself desperately wishing Sunday would come quickly.

I headed back towards the school but made a pit stop in the process. I walked into the store and picked out a scale to use as practice for Eren’s powers. I found a sturdy one that could take a lot of weight. I bought it before heading back to the dorm. When I walked in Eren was still out like a light. I kicked off my shoes and didn’t even bother changing clothes before I slipped into the bed next to him. I pulled him close and let myself fall asleep with him in my arms. Before my eyes closed I placed a kiss on his forehead.

“You mean the world to me brat,” I whispered. I know he can’t hear me, but I needed to say it.

I closed my eyes and I drifted off to sleep with a new sense of peace, despite the slight dread still nagging at me in the back of my mind.


	65. Hurry Back

My eyes shot open as my body shot straight up and nearly out of the bed. My legs dangling over the edge. I looked around the dark room as my head spun. Little white dots started to cloud my vision for a moment as my head pounded. Whoa head rush, I sat up way too fast. I thought putting my hand up to my throbbing head. I felt the panic feeling slowly leave me not even remembering what had me so panicked to begin with. Nightmares are horrible, but I’d at least want to remember what the hell happened.

“You okay?” I heard Levi’s raspy voice behind me as he sat up rubbing at his eyes.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” I said scooting closer to him. “It was just a nightmare.”

“It’s okay,” he said, letting out a yawn before stretching a little. “It’s about time we normally head out anyway isn’t it,” he said and I looked at the time.

“Yeah.” We got up and got ready. I finished changing and waited for Levi to finish. He was in the bathroom changing.

I sat on the bed and felt my thoughts drift off. I couldn’t help but be a little nervous that he would make me practice my power tonight. I still really didn’t want to. I know I promised to try his new plan, but I needed some time to wrap my head around my power and the feedback I got from the teachers today. They were right I am thinking of that side of my power in a negative way. I need time to mentally distance that negative feeling away from my power.

“Don’t worry I promised I’d give you a break for a few days,” I heard Levi say and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I didn’t even hear the bathroom door open. I looked up at him and he was standing in the bathroom doorway. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He said before walking over to me. He plopped down on the bed next to me.

“Thanks.” I smile. I really did need the time to work on my feelings towards my power so my emotions affect it less.

“Of course, and I think that will definitely help you a lot in the long run,” Levi said giving me a smile as he placed his hand on mine.

Levi grabbed a bag that looked a lot lighter than the last one he had taken. He threw some books in it and asked if I wanted to put anything in there to take out to the field. I handed him my notebook with random writings and a pencil. He put it in the bag before grabbing the blanket.

We were about to head out of the dorm when Levi stopped me. “You gonna take your jacket?” he asked and stopped for a moment before realizing I was leaving it sit on the bed.

“Oops,” I said before going to pick it up.

We headed out to the cafeteria to pick up something to eat before making our way out to the field. It was colder tonight. I’m so glad Levi reminded me to grab my jacket or I probably would have frozen to death. I looked at Levi who just had a smug smile on his face.

I rolled my eyes and looked around the moon was close to being full and the stars were hidden behind nearly invisible clouds. I could only see the clouds when they were close to the moon which illuminated them.

We set the blanket out and pulled out some stuff to do. I could tell Levi wasn't reading his book. He hadn’t turned a page in over 5 minutes now. He wasn’t even looking at the pages. His eyes were looking around watching for something, anything that seemed out of place.

“Still on edge?” I asked. He nodded before letting out an anxious sign.

“I can’t shake this feeling now. It was on and off all day, and now it’s just constantly on.” He shook his head. “And knowing that I’m not the only one feeling it makes it worse. If it was just me I could write it off as paranoia. However, Jean and you have both felt it now.”

“Me?” I asked not really remembering when I specifically felt it.

“Earlier, when you were having your nightmare. When your emotions woke me up I felt strong feelings of panic and dread. It left as quickly as it came, but it was there.” He shook his head before his eyes met mine. “I can’t help but be on edge.”

I just sat there for a moment. Now that he mentions it there was this sinking feeling in my chest when I woke up. If only I can remember what the hell my dream.

“I know I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but I can’t help but feel like something big is coming,” his arms crossed and his hands slid up and down his arms almost like he was trying to warm himself up even though he didn’t look cold. His stare was empty as his thoughts took over.

“Earth to Levi,” I said snapping him out of it. He looked up at me and I could tell he was really worried about this. I just scooted closer to him and put my hand on his leg. “I know you’re scared of what is coming, but everything will be okay. We will get through whatever this is and we will do it together,” I said giving him a smile. “Well, now I sound like a broken record,” I laughed.

He let a smile slip onto his face. “Well, at least you’re being positive.”

“One of us needs to be. You can be pessimistic about this and I’ll be optimistic, but when it comes to my powers just know the roles are reversed,” I joked.

He just laughed before laying his head on my shoulder, “not for long you’ll love your power eventually. I’ll make sure of it.”

“That sounds like a threat,” I said, raising an eyebrow.

“Maybe it is,” he said with a devious smile.

I playfully gave him a shocked expression before teasing him a little, “oh no I’m so scared.”

“You better be brat,” He said before surprising me by jumping on me and pushing me down on the blanket and straddling my lap. He hovered over me for a second before leaning down and placing a kiss on my lips. I instantly started kissing him back before feeling him pull his head back.

“Thank you,” he smiled, “I always feel better after talking to you,” he said and I just responded by lifting my head off the blanket and having my lips meet his. He just kissed me back the smile on his face melted away into the kiss as it got more passionate.

We pulled away to breathe and he let out a laugh. “Your thoughts are um, interesting. I can tell you are really looking forward to when we get back to the dorm room.”

“You bet your ass I am,” I laughed realizing where my thoughts had gone with that kiss.

Levi just laughed and got off me. “Well, I shouldn’t get you too fired up now then,” he shook his head.

“Awe why not?”

“Cause if you pop a boner out here I’m not helping with it,” he laughed.

“Oh,” I pouted, “I guess that’s fair,” I picked my notebook back up and looked where my pencil had landed when it fell out of my hands when Levi tackled me.

“Right here,” he said picking it up and handing it to me.

“Thank you,” I said before passing him his book, “here I think you’re going to want this.”

“Thanks,” he said before giving me a defeated look.

“What’s wrong?”

“The bookmark fell out,” he sighed. “I have no clue what page I was on.”

“Oh, 392,” I said quickly.

“How the hell did you know that?”

“I looked out the page you were on and then noticed that after a few minutes you were still on the same page. It was 392.” I said giving him a smile.

“Well, damn,” he said before turning to the page. He smiled and pointed to exactly where he was. “Look at that you’re right,” he said and I handed him the bookmark.

We both did our own thing but in the comfort of each other. I started writing and Levi was reading his story. We laid on the field peacefully for a while just watching for anything that might scream danger. The night went on as normal aside from the fact that I could feel the dread Levi was talking about. I wasn’t sure if it was coming from me or Levi, or a little of both, but I can tell what had him so freaked out before.

When it was time to head back we both let out a sigh of relief before making our way back to the dorm. I slipped my hand into Levi’s as we walked. His hand held mine tight before he looked up at me and smile.

“Ready to have some fun?” he asked with a purr in his voice.

“Always,” I said slightly picking up my pace trying to rush us back to the dorm.

“Slow down,” Levi said after a minute of me rushing us.

“No speed up,” I said before turning around to face him, “I’ll carry you if you go to slow,” I said before looking at him. Suddenly I felt my feet come off the ground I looked at the ground before looking at Levi. “Um,” I gave Levi a cheeky smile once I realized this was his doing.

“How are you going to carry me when you can’t even touch the floor?” He asked with a smug grin.

“Put me down,” I rolled my eyes.

“Hmm,” he said, thinking about it, “okay, but first,” he brought me closer to him and placed a kiss on my lips before letting my feet touch the floor.

We made our way back to the dorm and the second the door closed I pressed my lips to his. I walked him back to the bed before we both fell back on it.

“Okay, wait a minute,” he said taking a breath, “can I at least take off my shoes,” he asked with a partially amused smile.

“Fine,” I sighed before quickly taking mine off and throwing them to the floor.

My thoughts had already started to wander with different fantasies as I waited for Levi to take off his shoes ever so slowly.

“Oh, that sounds fun,” Levi said snapping me out of my daydream.

“You sure?” I asked a little surprised.

“Hell yeah,” he said and I nodded.

“Alright then.” Looks like I’m topping tonight. I pushed him back on the bed and pulled off his shirt. I quickly took my shirt off and threw it aside before positioning myself in between his legs. His legs were bent around my hips as my hands worked at his pants.

I rubbed my hand against the crotch of his pants and felt him let out a little breath as he held back a moan.

“Already feeling it?” I asked as I noticed his pants tightening.

“Who wouldn’t with what you're doing and the thoughts you're thinking. Hot damn,” he said closing his eyes and letting his head hit the bed. He caught his lip in his teeth as I rubbed harder through his clothes.

“Well, before we get into it I will remind you that this is my first time topping, so don’t judge me too harshly,” I said and he smiled.

“Same for me but reverse the roles,” he laughed.

“Also if you want to stop be sure to tell me,” I said leaning forward and placing a kiss on his lips.

“I doubt I’ll need to but I’ll keep it in mind,” he smiled. “That being said can we please get these pants off it’s starting to hurt,” he said biting his lip again.

“Of course,” I said before sliding them down. I got off the bed for a moment so I could slide off my own pants. Before returning to the bed I made sure to grab the lube and a condom. “We’re going to need these.”

“Definitely.”

I came back to the bed and set them aside for a moment. I leaned over Levi and pressed my lips to his as my hand ran up his thigh I stopped just before my hand touched his boxers.

I lifted my hand up and brought it up to his chest and ran my hand down it as I pulled away from the kiss moving to his neck. Payback. I thought and Levi laughed.

“You’re so petty,” he said as I started giving him a hickey in a noticeable spot. After making sure it was dark enough to stay for a while I picked my head up and looked him in the eyes.

“Very.”

“Well, unlike you I don’t mind people seeing if I have a hickey or not,” he smiled.

I just glared at him. He knew that wasn’t the response I wanted, but he just smirked at me anyway. “Bastard.”

“Oh ouch, name-calling now, very mature, brat,” he said playfully letting out a laugh.

“Shut the hell up,” I said, unable to keep a straight face myself.

My hand went back to his thigh and slowly made its way up this time not stopping until it was massaging the bulge in his boxers.

“Fuck,” he breathed out letting his head fall back. I could tell I caught him off guard a little,

When he was fully erect I looped my finger in the hem of his boxers and looked up at him, “this okay?”

“Yup,” he said with a smile. I slid them down and he winced at the cold air a little.

“You’re shivering a little,” I said and he just smirked at me.

“You gotta warm me up,” he smiled and I nodded.

“Oh trust me you’ll be sweating in a minute.”

“Not the sexiest thing but alright then,” Levi laughed.

“Not sexy, but the truth.” I shrugged before grabbing the lube. “However this part is cold,” I said and he let out a sigh.

“Fun,” he said sarcastically.

“You ready?” I asked checking to make sure I was okay to continue.

“Ready,” he confirmed.

I put some in my hand and made sure my fingers were lubed up really well before pressing them to his hole. I saw a shiver run through him and felt it run through me at once remembering that strong emotions and feelings are felt by both people. Oh damn, this will be interesting.

“Very.” He smiled.

I pressed a finger in and he bit his lip. After he got used to it I added a second finger. His eyes opened before shutting tight.

“You okay?” I asked seeing a bit of pain in his face.

“I’m okay.” He nodded just give me a minute to adjust. He took a few deep breaths and it took him a minute before I felt him start to squirm against my fingers to try and get them deeper.

“Ready?” I asked and he nodded.

I added a third finger and felt him jolt a little. Before I could ask he nodded again, “I’m okay,” he said answering my question before I could ask it.

I decided to distract him as he got used to it. “So, you know where I pleasure myself but I never found out where you do it?” I asked him with a purr in my voice.

“Shower,” He breathed.

“Do you just rub one out? Or do you do this? Do you play with yourself like this or is all of this new to you?” I asked and I watched as his cheek got a pink tint to them.

“I’ve only tried this twice,” he mumbled as his hips rocked against my fingers.

“Did you enjoy it?” I asked and he nodded.

“But not as much as I’m enjoying you doing it,” he moaned out.

“Ready to go further?” I asked.

“Please.”

I pulled my fingers out and he let out a little breath. I pulled down my boxers before slipping on the condom and making sure there was enough lube so it wouldn't hurt.

I looked up and was about to ask but he beat me to it, “yes it’s okay,” he said, biting his lip.

“Are you begging?” I asked and he rolled his eyes.

“No.” He said taking a breath regaining his composure a little.

“Hmmm,” I said before waiting a little.

“Fine yes,” he rolled his eyes before sitting up on his elbows realizing I wasn’t going to fuck him unless he begged.

“Yes, what?” I asked and he let out an annoyed sigh.

“Yes I’m begging,” he said and I smiled.

“Good,” I said before positioning myself and sliding it in. He bit his lip so hard I felt a slight pain in my own lip.

“You okay?” I asked and he nodded.

“Please move,” he begged moving his own hips.

“Right, sorry,” I mumbled before gently thrusting it in in a little more and out just to get him used to the feeling. When he started to match my rhythm I knew it was a sign to switch it up a little.

I pulled him up into my lap and thrusted up into him. He gripped my back before burying his face in my shoulder. “Fu- shit,” he said before letting out a moan. He was circling his hips as he moved up and down matching my rhythm.

“I’m close,” he said as his breathing got more and more jagged.

“Shit, me too,” I mumbled feeling my head start to blur. The pleasure was blinding and feeling double of it was overwhelming in the best way.

“Shit Eren-,” he said giving the best warning he could before coming.

I was right there in the same boat. I thought I was going to cum before him, but I managed to hold out even if it was just a little longer.

We both fell back in the bed and laid there for a moment catching our breaths.

“That was fun,” Levi said taking a deep breath before turning to me and placing a kiss on my lips. 

“Hell yeah, it was,” I smiled. After a few minutes of riding out our orgasm, we got cleaned up before heading back to bed. We both fell asleep in each other's arms after that.


	66. Safety Lessons

When I woke up I went to sit up only for my body to tell me it wasn’t going to happen. “Oh fuck that hurt,” I winced feeling all of the muscles in my back and hips scream in agony at any movement.

“Pain in the ass isn’t it?” Eren asked letting out a yawn as he sat up. “Quite literally,” he laughed as he let out a little stretch.

“Shut the fuck up,” I rolled my eyes before he helped me get out of the bed.

“Oh ouch I’m so hurt,” he mumbled, letting out a smile as he headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

I opened my email to check to see if the class schedule had changed or had stayed since I remember today’s classes had the possibility of changing.

I opened the new message and sure enough, it had changed. We were having something called “safety training with special tools.” Whatever that means. There was nothing else telling us what it could be aside from that it was some sort of safety exercise. I looked at how long this class would be and had to blink a few times, damn it’s as long as two classes. It’s safe to assume we will be doing this all day. The times are scheduled for both before and after lunch, so kinda like the power trigger lesson as a double block period. I just looked at where it was taught to know where we would have to head. “The gym?”

“What’s in the gym?” Eren asked coming out of the bathroom.

“Our special class for the day. It seems they did decide to change the joint classes after all,” I said and he sighed.

“It’s not going to be like the power trigger one right?”

“Not likely, it says it’s a safety lesson,” I said and he let out a sigh of relief.

I got up and headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day. I silently cursed myself for bottoming last night. I just hope we aren’t doing anything too strenuous in these safety lessons.

After I finished getting ready we headed out of our dorm only to bump into Marco and Jean in the hallway. “Oh Levi bottomed last night,” Jean quickly said with a devious smile.

“Yup,” I said unphased by it.

“Were we too loud?” Eren mumbled the question to me.

“No, it was the hickey you left on me for payback dumbass,” I said pointing to the mark on my neck.

“Oh yeah,” Eren laughed awkwardly rubbing at his neck.

“Sasha’s going to jump you this time,” Marco shook his head.

“Levi’s gunna get a lap dance,” Jean nudged me with a wink.

“I don’t think she’d do that to me,” I shrugged. I mean everyone else has been friends with her longer. I’m new I doubt she’d do that so easily.

“Yeah okay, you keep telling yourself that,” Jean laughed.

“Well she’s going to have a hard time doing it anyway,” I said and he looked at me confused, “we’re going to the gym, I don’t think there are any chairs there unless the teachers brought them in.

“Wait we’re heading to the gym?” Marco asked before Jean had the chance too.

“Yeah didn’t you guys get the email?” I asked only to see Marco look at Jean with an accusing look.

“Hey in my defense I’m an idiot,” Jean said before Marco let out a sigh.

“We woke up late and he told me that they hardly ever change the schedule and we will be fine just going to the class previously mentioned.”

“Well, I’m sure even if you did there would be a note on the door telling you to go elsewhere,” Eren added.

“That’s true, but the gym and the class are on opposite sides of the campus so we would still be kinda screwed,” Marco said before looking back to Jean.

“Well, now we know better than to listen to me in the morning,” Jean said with a cheeky smile.

“Or ever,” Marco teased.

“Ouch.”

“Well, we should get a move on unless we really do want to be late,” I said getting their attention.

“Agreed,” Marco said and we started on our way to the gym.

We bumped into Sasha on our way and sure enough, she grabbed my arm and told me to sit my ass on the ground. “The ground is filthy,” I said back blankly.

She sighed before throwing her jacket on the ground and forcing me to sit down on it. “Now don’t move,” she said straddling my lap. I looked at Eren for help and he just smiled at me. I heard him teasing me in his thoughts.

She turned my head a little to have better access to my neck. “Damn your so fucking pale,” I heard her mumble.

“Well damn, that’s harsh,” I muttered back.

“My makeup sticks out on you like a sore thumb.” She sighed. She looked around for a minute before spotting Christa. “Stay here,” she said before getting off my lap.

“Christa hey Christa,” she said flagging her down as she ran up to her and Ymir.

They stopped walking and she started talking to her for a minute before they all walked over together. “You’re a goddess,” she said with the biggest smile as Christa handed her something.”

“Wait what’s happening?” Ymir asked just as confused as the rest of us.

“Levi’s so fucking pale my makeup doesn’t work on him, but since Christa has really light skin her make up would work better on him. I mean it won’t be perfect, but it won’t look like a botched spray tan.” Sasha laughed before straddling my lap again. She pulled out a makeup wipe and started over.

“My neck is starting to cramp,” I mumbled and Sasha let out a huff of annoyance.

“Well if your dumbasses would get better at hiding these then I wouldn’t have to do it for you,” she said glaring at both me and Eren. She finished up and handed the makeup back the Christa with a thankful smile.

“That looks a lot better,” Christa said with a smile.

“Thanks to you,” Sasha said giving her a pat on the shoulder. “I owe you one,” she said before looking to Ymir, “how about dinner tonight on me, my treat,” she said inviting the both of them.

“I’d love too,” Christa smiled.

“Free food, count me in,” Ymir nodded.

“Awesome,” Sasha smiled. Ymir and Christa continued on their way to the gym.

She turned to me and helped me off the floor before she picked her jacket back up before throwing it over her shoulder. “No one tell Connie I threw his jacket on the ground,” She laughed. Well, guess it wasn’t her jacket.

“Why do you have Connie’s Jacket?” Jean asked and Sasha just smiled.

“He left it in my dorm,” She said and we all just stared at her.

Wait a minute. Sasha was in between roommates at the moment. Her last roommate just graduated and she has yet to have a new one transferred in so it’s very possible that they could have-. It’s none of my business.

“Did you guys do it?” Jean said. Well, guess he thinks it’s his business.

“I don’t kiss and tell,” Sasha said crossing her arms for a minute before laughing, “I do fuck and tell though. So yes,” She said with a big smile.

“Gross,” Jean mumbled.

“What do you mean gross?” Sasha asked glaring at him.

“Straight people, disgusting,” he said before laughing, “I’m just kidding. Hell yeah dude,” he said before giving her a high five. “It’s about time you two fucked there has been so much sexual tension between you.” Jean seemed more excited about this than Sasha at first glance.

Marco just cleared his throat, “we should continue heading to the gym,” he said and I agreed. We were going to be late if we kept this up.

We made it to the gym after the few pit stops and it seems we were still on time. Everyone was there, and I mean everyone. All the teachers were in the gym.

“Wait where’s Armin?” I heard myself ask noticing he wasn’t in the gym.

“Maybe he overslept?” Eren said before looking around.

“Who’s his roommate? We can ask them if-,” I was cut off by Sasha.

“No good, Connie’s Armin’s roommate and he was with me all night. He headed to class early this morning and didn’t stop by his dorm.”

“Shit,” I heard Eren mumble as he started to head back towards the door.

I saw Armin appear through the wall looking frantic. “Oh, there he is,” I said getting Eren’s attention. Armin looked around before walking up to us out of breath. “Oh good I’m not late, my alarm didn’t go off,” he said. His hair looked half brushed and he was out of breath.

“Well you made it,” Sasha said patting him on the back before walking towards the center of the gym where the teachers looked like they were about to start.

We all walked over and we saw the doors to the gym open. Pixis and Shadis walked in and I couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong. Why were they here I thought we were just doing safety lessons? Did something happen? Maybe while we were sleeping someone- or while we were at the field I missed someone? Or-. Stop. I took a deep breath before my thoughts could spiral further. I was jumping to the worst-case scenario maybe they were the ones teaching the lesson, but then why are the other teachers here?

“Good morning everyone,” Pixis greeted us.

“Today we are having a very special lesson. Now not all of you can participate, and some of you will have to participate differently than others, but we are going to try and make this inclusive for everyone. We want everyone to be able to take away something from this safety lesson.” He smiled, but there was something off about it. There was a sadness behind it.

“Then again not everyone will want to participate,” Shadis cut in, “if you are able to then you have to no exceptions,” he said and I suddenly felt my stomach drop without knowing why.

I couldn’t even read their minds. Pixis’s power makes it impossible. His forcefields are damn near impenetrable and he always has one around his mind whether it's intentional or just a side effect from his power I don’t know, but it makes it hard for me to trust him.

Shadis, on the other hand, had a lot of restraint when it came to his own thoughts. He was able to keep things hidden with barely any effort. It was hard to get any information out of him ever.

“We will be calling up people at random. First up,” Pixis said before looking at his phone which I could only assume had our attendant list or a random name generator with our names in it. “Eren,” Pixis said looking up from his phone. I felt Eren tense up next to me. “Come on up,” Pixis motioned.

Eren slowly walked to the front and stood in front of everyone. Shadis had walked a little farther away before staring at Eren from about 15 feet away. “Now, your powers are gravity manipulation right?” Pixis asked reading it off of his phone.

“Yes sir,” Eren said awkwardly. I could feel the anxiety welling up in him from here.

“Alright, use your power to protect yourself,” Pixis said and Confusion filled the room.

“I’ll give you till the count of three,” Shadis said and everyone's heads turned to look at him. I felt all the color drain from my face. “1.” Eren sat there frozen in fear staring down the barrel of a gun. “2.” I wanted to stop this I wanted to scream. I didn’t know what to do. I could feel everyone's panic it was too overwhelming I couldn’t do anything. “3.” Before I could do anything the shot rang out around the room.


	67. Staring Down a Barrel of a Gun

Eren’s eyes were shut tight and his hands had flown up to protect his face. He opened his eyes after a minute and sat there staring at the bullet that was stopped just in front of him in place. All the blood had drained from his face. He looked down at his hands and realized.

“I would say congratulations on protecting yourself, but I can’t do that,” Pixis said before turning to look at me, “Mr. Ackerman please let Eren learn to protect himself,” He said before a force field appeared around me. The bullet dropped to the floor and I knew my powers wouldn’t work outside this bubble.

“Now, let’s try this again,” Pixis said and I watched as Shadis reloaded the gun.

“You have to use your own power this time. Your friends won’t save you,” Shadis said before he started counting. “1.” No stop this. Could this be the terrible thing that was coming? “2.” Stop. Please stop. Eren you have to stop the bullet. “3.” The shot rang out and felt myself start to hyperventilate when the bullet was nowhere in sight. Did he get hit?

Eren’s arms were blocking him and I couldn’t see any sign of blood anywhere. Eren opened his eyes and looked around. He didn’t seem to see the bullet anywhere either with the look of confusion on his face. He patted his arms and chest for a moment before looking at me to see if I stopped it again. The forcefield around me dropped.

“Well, you failed to save yourself,” Pixis sighed, “I thought it would take longer for us to introduce the fail-safe we have put in place,” he said before pointing at the teachers behind Eren.

“That’s why they are here. They are using their powers to make sure that even if you can’t stop the bullet they will. None of you are in danger for this test, but we need you to act as if you are.” He let out a sigh. “I hate that we have to do this in the first place, but there have been so many school shootings in recent years and they are only increasing. God forbid it ever happens here, but on the chance that it ever does we want you guys to be able to protect yourselves, even if we can’t.”

“I’m sorry for scaring you so much,” Pixis said to Eren before addressing everyone, “I need you guys to be as scared as he was, to act like it’s real. Even if this isn’t real this time one day it just might be. I hate that this is something we have to go over, but it’s the only way I can think of to make you guys safe without placing a million different security systems on the campus. I know no one wants that.

He was right. We hear weekly about school shootings. The other schools put in more cameras, metal detectors, and guards. Those schools always sound more like a prison than an actual school. No one wants to be watched at all times during school, not to mention 24 hours since we live on campus.

“Another reason we are doing this is because we noticed a few students say that they plan on working with the police in order to do so you will have to know how to protect yourselves in that aspect as well,” Shadis added.

“Now, please, take this seriously. We are going to be going over a few different things, this is one of them,” Pixis said before calling me up.

“I know you can already do this since you just showed me you could, but that was for protecting others, we have to make sure you are able to protect yourself,” he said and I nodded. “Thank you for trying to protect Eren, that does make me feel better about all of this even if I had to restrain you,” he whispered before backing up. I just gave him a smile and a nod.

I looked straight ahead as Shadis loaded the gun. It was nerve-racking to be staring down a gun even knowing that I was perfectly safe. He gave me a count down and when he fired I stopped the bullet right after it left the barrel of the gun. It barely left the gun when it stopped dead in its track. That was until I pulled it towards me and grabbed it. I handed it to PIxis and he nodded.

“That is what I want you guys to do. Now I know not all of you will have the ability to stop it in mid-air. Some of you are good at evasion, others are good at defense, and some have other powers to help. Get creative, there are no wrong answers as long as the bullet doesn’t “hurt” you.” He said before looking at three students specifically.

“You three,” he called them up. Armin Mikasa and Annie came to the front. “These three are about the only ones in the classroom who can get hit by the bullet and not be hurt by it. Two of them are bulletproof the other it will phase straight through him.

“Now there are a few of you who won’t be able to stop a bullet or be able to evade it. Now we still have lessons for you to help.” Shadis added.

“But we will be doing this with everyone in case you guys can come up with a creative way to use your powers that maybe we aren’t thinking of,” Pixis finished.

“Not everyone might be able to get their powers to work on the first try,” Pixis said looking to Eren, “and that’s okay. We will give you more than one chance at this if needed.”

“Any questions?” Shadis asked.

The room was quiet for a moment before Sasha raised her hand. They gave her a nod to proceed with her question. “You said you didn’t think some of us would be able to participate are you going to tell us who?” She asked and Pixis looked to Shadis before shrugging.

“We aren’t going to name anyone specifically. You all know more about your powers than we do, so you might be able to find an easy solution that we never would have thought of,” he said, “but the reason we brought up that point that not all of you might be able to participate is so that you aren’t discouraged if you aren’t able to think of a way to use your powers.” Pixis said and Sasha nodded she seemed pleased with his answer. “With that being said why don’t you come up next,” he asked.

“Okay,” Sasha nodded before heading up to the front. Shadis reloaded the gun and started to count. Sasha seemed ready. She took a deep breath and ask he hit 3 she smiled. He pulled the trigger and instantly a duplicate appeared in front of her taking the bullet without even seeming phased. The duplicate just grabbed the bullet that barely even went through its skin… if I can even call it that? At least it feels like skin, but the bullet hardly even made a scratch on it.

The duplicate handed the bullet to Pixis who had a confused and shocked face. He took the bullet and just like that the duplicate disappeared. “Good job,” he said still confused about what just happened.

“My duplicates don’t feel pain, I can control the density of the duplicate and dictate whether or not they can be cut as easily as butter or if they are bulletproof. It’s something new I’ve been working on I’ve never really been able to actually try it out until now.” She said before stepping aside so they could call up the next student.

“Alright then,” he said before looking back at the group of surprised students. “Armin, would you like to come up?”

Armin just nodded before awkwardly walking up. Shadis started counting down, but the second Shadis said 3 Armin just straight-up vanished out of fear. Shadis didn’t even have to shoot. “Well that’s one way to do it,” Pixis laughed before having Shadis lower the weapon. Armin reappeared in the same place.

“Sorry I was supposed to phase not disappear,” he apologized.

“Well, either of those tactics will work, however, while invisible I do suggest not staying in the same place in case they decided to shoot anyway,” he said, giving him a pat on the shoulder before having him join the rest of us.

“Who's next?” Shadis asked Pixis and Pixis looked around for a moment before pointing to Jean.

“Um alright,” Jean said awkwardly. I could tell he was nervous. He wasn’t sure whether or not he would be able to stop the bullet.

“1,” Shadis started counting and Jean looked like he started to Panic, “2,” Jean looked up and at Pixis.

“Wait!” He said quickly. Shadis looked at Pixis and Pixis nodded.

“What is it?” he asked Jean trying to see what the issue was.

“Do I have to stop the bullet after it’s shot? Or can I do something like Armin did? Like prevent the shooter from seeing me,” Jean asked and Pixis shrugged.

“If it works then do whatever means necessary. Just remember your life is on the line,” he said. We all know that we are all safe, but hearing him say that really made it click for me that he’s right. If we ever were in this situation we can’t hesitate.

“Okay, sorry, I was just making sure,” he said before looking at Shadis with a nod.

“Okay, 1,” he said starting over. “2,” Jean seemed calmer. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “3.”

The room exploded with steam. It was hard to see anything. The gun didn’t go off. I tried to look around to see where Jean had ended up, but I couldn’t see him through the thick steam. I felt a hand on my shoulder and nearly jumped.

“Well that was easy,” Jean said now standing next to me before letting the steam evaporate.

Pixis looked around and locked eyes with him after the steam cleared. “Good job,” he said with a nod before looking to Marco. “You ready?”

“Yes sir,” Marco said walking up to the front,

Shadis started counting and Marco took a calming breath and got into a stance that I didn’t recognize. Jean grabbed my arm bouncing like a happy child. “Here it comes,” he whispered to me with an excited tone.

When Shadis hit three Marco did a quick movement and there was a wall of ice in front of him. We braced ourselves for the sound of the gunshot, but it never came. We looked at Shadis and realized his hand and feet were frozen. The gun was in a block of ice as well as Shadis’s hand.

“I didn’t know if I could reach him at that distance so I did my own fail-safe with the wall of ice,” Marco said to Pixis.

“Very good,” he said before looking to Jean, “do you mind thawing him out?”

“Please,” Shadis added calmly.

Jean walked up and unfroze him. Pixis and Shadis decided to switch out the weapons incase the gun they were using was damaged. Pixis called Petra up to the front and she gave a smile as he handed her the old gun. She gave a happy look as the gun melted right there in her fingertips. It dripped to the floor and she just wiped off her hands before Erwin portaled the liquid to where I assumed was the nearest trash.

“Alright now that that is taken care of who’s next?” Shadis asked loading the new weapon.

“Ymir, why don’t you come up,” Pixis asked and she shrugged before making her way to the front.

Shadis counted out and on the count of three, we were all so sure that she wasn’t going to be able to do anything to “save” herself. We waited for the gunshot when all of a sudden the gun flew out of Shadis’s hands and hit the floor. Everyone looked at the gun then back to Ymir in complete confusion about what happened. A few people even looked at me thinking I used my telekinesis to move the gun. Even Pixis looked at me.

“Wasn’t me this time,” I clarified.

“I mean technically I didn’t do it, but it was my power that allowed it,” Ymir said. Ghosts can sometimes briefly interact with the living, it’s usually nothing too big, but if they feel strongly enough they are able to interact with bigger tasks such as moving things, touching people, making things float, stuff like that.”

“So a ghost knocked it out of his hand?” Pixis asked.

“Yup, I sorta explained this in my power trigger explanation, that I have this ghost attached to me all the time, he is what you people would refer to as a guardian angel well sort of, but yeah. He feels really strong about my safety so he was able to interact with the gun.” She said before walking back leaving Pixis sitting there both confused and impressed along with the rest of us.

“Christa, do you mind coming up?” Pixis asked and she nodded.

She stood there for a moment as Shadis started counting down. When he said three she dropped to her knees and threw her hands over her face. I head the gun sound off and once again the bullet vanished.

“Sorry, I panicked,” she said quickly before taking a deep breath and standing up. She took a few more deep breaths, “can I try again. I think I can do it this time,” she said and Pixis nodded.

She took a deep breath as Shadis started the next countdown. “1” he started again.

“You don’t really want to shoot me,” she started talking.

“2,” he continued.

“If you shoot me it will haunt you for the rest o your life. You will have to live with that.

“3,” he said and before he could pull the trigger she said something really quick.

“You don’t want my death on your hands do you,” she finished speaking and he lowered the gun. 

“Good work,” Pixis said with a nod.

She smiled before mumbling, “I did it,” in disbelief. I guess my powers are a lot stronger than I thought they were.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again. Never get on Christa’s bad side. Her powers of manipulation scare me. I just looked to Eren who looked back at me. We shared the same knowing nod as we took into account how strong her power actually was.

“Alright, Annie your turn,” Pixis said and she walked up.

“I don’t need a countdown,” she said and Shadis nodded before taking the shot. The bullet quickly bounced off her hardened skin.

She walked back and Pixis just sort of gave her a nod before calling Mikasa up.

“I don’t really need a countdown either since I’m indestructible,” she shrugged.

“Actually, I think you and I both know that it will bounce off,” Pixis said before dismissing her.

“Good call, don’t waste your bullets,” Mikasa laughed before walking away.

“Reiner,” Pixis called instead. Berthold walked up and Shadis started to count.

“Wait,” Reiner said and Shadis stopped. “So can I use any means necessary? Like even if it means destroying school property?” He asked.

“What's more important school property or your life?” Pixis asked, “so yes, it’s fine honestly I expected more of your guy’s powers to destroy this place already,” he shrugged.

Reiner nods and Shadis starts to count again. When he hit three Reiner slammed his foot down and caused some of the floorboards to break. Right as the shot rang out he used some of the floorboards to block the bullet from himself as he ran out of the way.

“Good job,” Pixis said, “using your surroundings to protect you and then getting away from the danger. “Very nice,” he said with a nod.

“Alright, Berthold you’re up,” Shadis said and Berthold nervously made his way up to the front.

Shadis reloaded and started to count. Berthold stood there for a moment practically shaking for a moment. When Shadis hit three we were surprised that Berthold had actually come up with a way to avoid the bullet. The bullet rang out, but Berthold had melted to the floor. Well at least that’s what it looked like at first glance, but what he actually did was stretched himself so that he was flat against the floor no thicker than a piece of cardboard.

“Very nice,” Pixis said as Berthold popped back into his normal self.

“Thank you, sir,” Berthold said before making his way back to the rest of us.

“Connie, your up,” Pixis called and Connie happily walked up to the front.

“I actually have two ways I could do this, do you mind if I show both,” he asked and Pixis shrugged.

“I don’t see why not,” he said with a shrug.

“Awesome. Also, I don’t need a countdown for either of these,” Connie said and Shadis looked at Pixis who gave him a nod.

“Alright,” Shadis said before pulling the trigger.

At least he was pulling the trigger, but before he even had the chance Connie was back in his original spot holding the gun. “Here you go,” He said handing it to Pixis. “Now can I show you the second way?” He asked a little too excited about this.

“Um alright,” Pixis said before handing the gun back to Shadis. He didn’t seem to be taking this very seriously and I was afraid that this would lead to some issues if something bad ever did happen.

Shadis aimed and pulled the trigger this time the shot rang out around the room. We all thought Connie had just avoided it. He was just standing there in the same spot with a smile on his face before handing a bullet to Pixis.

“I grabbed the bullet after it was fired because if I dodged and someone was behind me I wouldn’t want them to get hit by it,” he said and Pixis instantly smiled.

It was then I realized that Connie was taking this seriously. He just really wanted to show to Pixis that in case needed he could do more than just run away.

“Thank you,” Pixis said patting him on the shoulder. “That is what I like to see,” he said, giving him a smile and dismissing him.

Pixis turned to Eren and called him back up. “Alright time to redeem yourself,” he said giving Eren a smile. It wasn’t fair since you were the only one to go when you thought this was real,” he said before looking around the room. “Thank you all for taking this seriously and not blowing it off. You all surprised me with your powers and creativity to get out of a sticky situation. With that, he turned back to Eren. “Ready?”

“Yes,” Eren said giving him a nod before facing down the barrel of the gun once again this time knowing he was safe.

“1” Shadis started counting. “2” Eren took a deep breath, letting his eyes close for a second. “3,” Shadis said and Eren opened his eyes preparing himself to stop the bullet. Any means necessary I heard his thoughts echo those words.

The gun fired and we all watched as the bullet stopped in mid-air and floated to the ceiling. This was different than normal it went up a lot faster than normal. Probably since he didn’t know the proper weight and he was just focused on stopping it at any means.

It might have been sloppy, but effective. He did it. He stopped the bullet. I knew he could. He looked at me and I gave him a smile and a little thumbs up to let him know that was definitely him doing it and that I was proud of him. A little smile appeared on his face and Pixis patted him on the shoulder.

“Good job,” he said before thanking everyone again for taking it seriously.

“Well, it’s a few minutes before lunch so I’m going to let you go a few minutes early. Just remember to come back here after,” Pixis said before looking to Shadis.

“Safety lessons aren’t over. That was the easy part,” Shadis said and I felt everyone's hearts sink. Well, there goes that small victory.

“You’re dismissed,” Pixis said and we all headed out of the gym.


	68. Break from the Stress

We all decided to sit outside the gym for lunch. Everyone left to get their food and slowly made their way back. Everyone was pretty quiet. I guess we were all trying to figure out what Shadis could have meant. I mean easy? This was the hardest lesson I’ve ever done. Then again I’m not like Levi, or anyone else. I just figured out what my power is and I have little to no control over it. 

“You’ll get there,” Levi said, placing his hand on mine.

I just gave him a smile and nodded. I didn’t want to think about anything knowing he could hear it but at this point, I really wasn’t sure if I ever would get there.

I Knew Levi could hear my thoughts his grip on my hand tightened but he stayed quiet. He leaned over and placed a kiss on my cheek.

“Well,” Sasha started finally breaking the overall silence between everyone, “that was a stressful class,” she said with an awkward laugh. “So rather than talking about that and the next thing they could have planned for us, why don’t we talk about this weekend.”

It took me a moment to figure out what she was talking about until I remembered that this weekend we had planned that we would all go and hang out as a group. Damn, I forgot all about that.

“So did I,” Levi mumbled giving me an awkward look.

“So we all are meeting up tomorrow at the front of the school right?” She asked clarifying.

“Yeah, and then we are going to walk over to the mall,” Marco said giving her a smile encouraging the change of topic.

“Alright, everyone be ready and at the front by 10 or we are leaving without you,” Sasha said with a teasing tone.

I felt Levi’s hand give mine a squeeze and I turned my attention to him.

“I should tell them,” he said instantly I felt him get really anxious, but he took a deep breath. “I mean, I trust them all, and I don’t think they would judge me… well, I hope they won’t.” Levi said and it finally clicked to me that he meant telling them about his powers.

“I think they will accept you,” I let out a little laugh, “I think it might bite you in the ass a little bit though. Sasha might decide that she wants to talk to you in class and she is just going to none stop throw thoughts at you,” I laughed.

“Oh god I didn’t even think about that,” He laughed a little.

When they stopped talking about the plans for tomorrow Levi finally spoke up. I could tell he was a little nervous about telling them, but he seemed confident enough when he spoke. “There is one thing I would like to tell you guys before tomorrow,” Levi said and everyone turned their attention towards him.

“So I never fully told you guys about my powers, most of you probably just think that telekinesis is my only power,” he said and already I saw the looks of confusion on everyone's faces. Well, almost everyone. Jean and Marco had big smiles on their faces since they were already in the know.

“Wait you have more than one power?” Sasha asked with a confused expression.

“Three to be exact,” Levi said and everyone just kinda looked around at each other. Some people looked at Jean and Marco who were laughing a little.

“You guys know?” Sasha said trying to figure out what exactly they know. Sadly she’s not the mind reader.

“Yeah, he told us a few days ago, well he kinda had to but we aren’t going to get into that right now,” Jean laughed before turning back to Levi letting him finish what he was saying.

“Well, the only reason I bring it up is because you all saw the backlash my powers can have if I get overwhelmed.” He said and everyone seemed even more confused than before.

“When I collapsed in the gym on Monday, that was due to my powers, not anything else the teachers might have told you.”

“Wait what?” Sasha said scratching her head.

“Wait so does that mean when we all were hanging out your powers overwhelmed you then too?” Armin asked remembering the first time Levi collapsed from his powers overloading.

“Yup,” Levi responded and I watched as Armin and Mikasa both instantly looked at each other even more bewildered than before.

“I think you’re just going to have to tell them they are never gonna guess it,” I said trying to hold back my laughter.

“I think you’re right,” Jean joined in.

“Alright, then,” Levi smiled but I felt his hand squeeze mine as he got nervous. “Well, the first one obviously is telekinesis,” he said, stating the obvious probably to try and give himself a little more time before blurting out something that scared him so much. “And the other two are a little more, um, complicated.”

I could feel him start to lose his nerve. “You got this babe,” I whispered giving his hand a squeeze.

He took a breath and decided to just blurt it out, “Well, I’m an empath, and a mind reader,” He said quickly.

Everyone was quiet as they processed what he said. Armin was the first one to do anything. He just started laughing. After a minute he just shook his head before looking at Levi. “Your a sneaky asshole,” he said shaking his head and crossing his arms, but leaving a smile on his face.

What does he mean by that? I asked Levi mentally.

“I kinda read his mind to figure out what books he liked to get on his good side,” he whispered to me.

“Also, sorry for anything you may have heard,” Armin added realizing Levi heard everything he was thinking.

“No worries,” Levi said and I instantly followed it up mentally with he’s heard worse, without even thinking about it.

“So wait, what does empath mean?” Connie asked.

“Well, I can feel people’s emotions if they are strong enough, as well as if I have any strong emotions the people around me tend to feel them too,” Levi explained and Connie nodded starting to understand his powers.

“So wait, you could read all of our minds this whole time?” Sasha asked kinda angry. I was about to cut her off when she continued. “You knew how badly I wanted to be friends with you and you still ignored me?” She asked before shaking her head and in a very joking tone saying, “the nerve,” before laughing. “No, but in all seriousness,” she said clearing her throat, “Is that why you never wanted to make any friends?” She asked getting more serious.

“It was part of the reason,” Levi said. “I try not to listen to people's thoughts cause it’s a violation of privacy, but at the same time, I can’t help it at times. The whole empath thing, I didn’t want to influence anyone's emotions.” Levi explained. “There was more to it than just that, but it was a big reason.”

“Well, I hope you know that even with us knowing that I think I speak for everyone when I say that we don’t care what your powers are we are still your friends,” Sasha said looking around to make sure everyone agreed. They all did everyone nodding along with her as she spoke.

“Thank you,” Levi smiled.

“Now that being said, you said your power can overwhelm you,” Sasha said going back to a previous topic. “How does that happen?”

“Too many thoughts or strong emotions at once that I can’t tune out,” Levi said simply. Not to mention if he tries to do too much at once like what happened on Monday in the power trigger lesson.

“I see,” she nodded. “So the headphones?” She asked still trying to get the full picture.

“Helps to tune out those thoughts and some of the weaker emotions. It acts as a sort of wall since my powers can’t go through walls either,” He explained and she nodded.

“Okay, everything makes so much sense now,” she said with a smile, “so you never were ignoring us when you kept your headphones in you were just trying to stop from reading our thoughts and possibly getting overwhelmed.” She said and Levi nodded. Ph that makes me so happy. “Do you know how many times I thought you were just ignoring me?” She said with a laugh.

“Well, some of the times it might have been me ignoring you, but then again that’s a whole different long story, but it’s another reason I didn’t want to make friends,” Levi said rubbing the back of his neck hoping she wouldn’t take it the wrong way.

“Oh, still, I’m just glad it wasn’t because I was annoying or anything,” she said with a big smile before walking over and hugging him. “It doesn’t matter now, all that matters now is that we are friends,” she said practically squeezing the life out of him. He just laughed. I could only imagine the joy radiating off of her to make him smile that big.

“Group hug,” Connie yelled before everyone practically tackled Levi myself included.

After we all backed off of him Jean looked back to Connie before saying, “wait I still have to melt you,” before Connie took off.

“Hey wait, don’t melt my boyfriend,” Sasha said before everyone stopped including Connie.

“Boyfriend?” Everyone asked. I mean we knew they slept together, but were they officially dating? That’s news.

“I said what I said,” Sasha said without taking it back. Connie just calmly walked over to her before giving her a kiss.

“Ew straight people,” Jean said before pretending to jump in Marco’s lap for comfort. We all just laughed at their silliness before the bell rang. Everyone got really quiet as we realized we were going to have to go back into the gym.

“Who's ready for the hardest class of your life?” I asked and everyone's faces answered the question for me. No one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are not many chapters left, probably around 10 could be more could be less. This is just a general estimate with the notes that I have for the last few chapters. Thank you for reading, hope you enjoy the rest of the story.


	69. Bonus Points

We all walked back to the gym in silence. When we made it inside everything looked different. I looked around and noticed a larger gun that was different than anything I have ever seen. Wait a minute, no I’ve seen that exact gun before. I that a paintball gun? I looked at Levi to see if he was seeing what I was seeing. He already had a confused look on his face.

As the rest of the students came into the room Shadis stepped forward this time to greet us. “Welcome back,” he started. “So as I told you before lunch this lesson will be harder.”

“As some of you might notice this is a paintball gun,” Pixis said giving me and Levi a smile since he saw us looking at it.

“So we are going to be doing a few different things. We said we wanted you to be able to protect yourselves, but we also want you to be able to protect others.” Shadis said before picking up the paintball gun. And firing it against the wall. “As most of you probably know getting hit by this is painful, but it’s not deadly. That being said you are going to be responsible for stopping someone else from getting shot by this.”

“I know this all might seem like some kind of game, but we need you to take it seriously.” Pixis said, “a lot of you guys showed interest in using your powers to help the police, and part of that is not only watching your back, but also your partners.”

“So we have a volunteer who is the one we will be shooting at it is your job to try and stop them from getting shot. The teachers aren’t going to step in this time it’s all up to you,” Shadis said before gesturing for the volunteer to step forward.

Molbit walked up and gave us all a smile. I felt panic rise within me. Of course, they picked the teacher who doesn’t have any powers. We really have to stop him from getting hit because he can’t. I looked at Levi who looked gave me the same panicked look back at me.

“He has way to much trust in us,” I whispered to Levi.

“No, he knows full well he’s going to get hit, he just wants us to learn the best we can,” Levi whispered back.

Molbit put on safety goggles and gave Shadis a thumbs up. “Before we start, I just want to say that if you can’t figure out a way to stop it, then that's okay. That being said I’m ready,” he said and Shadis nodded before looking back at us.

“Levi, want to show them how it’s done?” he asked and I looked at Levi who gave a nod.

Levi was sure of his powers and would easily be able to stop Molbit from getting hit. However, looking around the room most of our powers aren’t fit for this. Mine might be in an experienced person’s hands, however, I’m not experienced.

Levi walked up and Shadis gave him a countdown. Molbit was saved the second Shadis pulled the trigger. The pellet stopping in the air before Levi gave them a smirk before flinging it back at Shadis. It splattered against him and he looked at Levi surprised but gave him a nod of approval.

“Well, that’s one way to do it,” Pixis said trying not to laugh as Shadis tried to wipe the red paint off his white shirt.

“Do I get bonus points for taking out the shooter?” Levi asked with a shit-eating grin.

“Sure,” Pixis laughed giving Levi a pat on the shoulder.

“Please don’t make this a thing,” Shadis mumbled with a sigh as he gave up on salvaging his shirt.

“Too late,” Pixis laughed, “we have to lighten the mood somehow. So if you can take out the shooter with his own bullet bonus points to you,” Pixis said giving Shadis a devious smile.

Shadis just rolled his eyes and looked to Molbit. “Alright, who do you want to protect you next?”

“Um, let's try,” he paused for a minute before looking around at all of us. “Annie,” he said with a shrug.

“How far away do I have to be from him?” Annie asked walking up to the front.

“As far or as close as you need to be for your power to work,” Pixis said before taking a step back. 

She walked up next to him before nodding. Shadis started the countdown and when he pulled the trigger Annie’s body crystallized and she stepped in front of Molbit. The paintball hit her and she took a breath before letting her skin turn back to normal. The paint was left on her hand. Pixis threw her a towel and she walked back to the front before mumbling, “no extra points for me.”

“Good work,” Pixis said.

Molbit looked around and pointed to Berthold. Who nodded and walked up. He looked at Pixis with a smile before looking back to Shadis. “Ready,” He said and Shadis started the countdown. Everyone saw the wheels in Berthold’s head-turning. He was trying for the bonus points, but how with his power?

When Shadis pulled the trigger Berthold made quick work stretching instantly into what looked like a weird ramp? His body looped and stretched into a tunnel that seemed to move the paintball around and redirected it towards Shadis who just shut his eyes and waited for impact. The paint splattered onto His shirt and he just let out a long sigh before looking to Pixis.

“You started this,” he groaned.

“I did, and I’m enjoying it,” Pixis said shamelessly. He said before looking back to Berthold.

“Well, you got the bonus points, but I doubt that would work with a real bullet,” he said and Berthold smiled.

“I can do something else too,” he said and Pixis nodded.

“Well let’s see it.” He said and Shadis hesitantly took aim before starting a countdown. Berthold took a few steps back as the countdown started and waited to make his move.

He pulled the trigger and Berthold used his stretching powers to wrap his arms around Molbit and pull him out of the way. “Sorry if that was too rough,” I heard him say to Molbit who just looked happy not to be shot with the paintball.

“It’s okay,” Molbit smile.

Pixis nodded, “good job,” he said before dismissing Berthold.

“Okay up next,” Molbit said looking around. “Armin.”

Armin looked like he was shaking with fear. “I can’t,” Armin whispered so quietly before slowly walking up to the front.

Shadis started the countdown and Armin looked visibly panicked. When Shadis pulled the trigger Armin ended up panicking and just jumping in front of Molbit. He tried to take the paintball pellet for him, but he was so anxious that his power made it phase straight through him.

Molbit winced as the pellet hit him in the stomach. “I’m sorry,” Armin blurted out realizing the pellet didn’t even touch him. “I tried to stop it I-.”

Molbit cut him off putting a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, nothing to worry about,” he said, giving him a smile before dismissing him.

“That’s okay,” Pixis said as Armin walked back to the rest of us. I gave him a high five as he walked up to me.

“You tried dude,” I said and he nodded, “jumping in front of him was brave,” I said giving him a smile.

“Thanks man,” he said, giving me a smile.

“Up next,” Molbit said rubbing where he got shot with the paintball, “Mikasa.”

Mikasa walked up and stood straight in front of Molbit and told Shadis she didn’t need a countdown. He fired and she took the hit before walking back as Pixis just kinda nodded. “Good job,” Pixis said before looking back to Molbit.

“Okay next up,” Molbit looked around again before smiling. “Christa.”

She nodded and walked up. She looked scared but more confident this time around. “She’s going for the bonus points,” Levi whispered to me.

“How is she going to do that?” I asked and he just smiled.

“Watch,” he said and I shrugged before turning my attention towards her.

Shadis started the countdown and she started talking to him instantly. “You don’t want to do this. You don’t want to hurt your friend. For even trying you want to hurt yourself. You’re going to shoot yourself as punishment.”

We all watched as Shadis turned the gun on himself and shot himself before snapping out of her control. He practically knocked the wind out of himself before glaring at Pixis who had started laughing.

“I hate you,” we all heard him say.

“I hate me too, for not grabbing a camera,” Pixis said wiping tears from his eyes as he cleared his throat trying to stop laughing.

“Extra bonus points for Christa for making the shooter take care of himself,” Molbit said trying not to laugh.

“Oh definitely,” Pixis agreed before dismissing her.

“Next up Sasha,” Molbit called.

“Shadis you better be ready cause I’m going for those bonus points,” She said and he shook his head.

“Look what you’ve done,” Shadis groaned at Pixis. He hesitant started the countdown before he hit three two of Sasha’s doubles held him down while a third grabbed the paintball gun. Her double pulled the trigger and shot him in the back with a pellet.

“Good lord,” Pixis said trying not to laugh. “Good thing we didn’t use a real gun,” he said and Shadis just glared at him. Sasha let him up and handed the gun back to him before making her doubles vanish.

“Bonus points,” Molbit said patting her on the shoulder before calling up the next student. “Jean.”

Jean walked up and Shadis started the countdown. The second Shadis was about to pull the trigger Steam filled up the room and Jean made his same escape pulling Molbit to safety.

He appeared next to me and I heard him say, “I wish I could have got the bonus points but I couldn’t think of anything,” He said as the steam started to clear.

“You could have stolen the paintball while the steam was up,” I said and Jean let out a groan.

“Damn, I didn’t even think of that,” he said and Molbit laughed. That would have been a great thing to see.” He said before the steam fully cleared and they made their way back to the front.

“Alright Reiner, you’re up,” Molbit called him up.

Shadis started the countdown and it was obvious that Reiner didn’t have a plan. He was looking around desperate to find something to use to defend them. Shadis pulled the trigger and Reiner was about to jump in front of Molbit but realized he was already too late. Molbit got hit and let out a wince. That looked painful he got hit in the same spot as last time.

“It’s alright,” Molbit said patting Reiner on the shoulder before calling up the next person, “Marco.”

Marco walked up and Shadis started the countdown. He pulled the trigger and the pellet stopped midair. I looked at Levi who shook his head and pointed at Marco.

Marco moved his hand and the pellet flew back in Shadis’s direction hitting him. Everyone looked confused except for Jean who actively cheered him on.

Marco just turned to Pixis before explaining, “Well I wanted the bonus points. The pellets have water in them even a little so I was able to control it.” He explained, “however, if it were a real bullet I would have just done the same thing as last time.” He said and Pixis nodded.

“Alright, good job,” Pixis said dismissing him.

“Ymir, you’re next,” Molbit said calling her up. She walked up and stood directly in front of him.

Shadis started the count down and once again before he could pull the trigger the paintball gun flew out of his hands. She nodded and Pixis dismissed her.

“Okay, only two of you left,” Molbit said before looking to me and Connie. Connie was practically bouncing where he was since he seemed so excited to go. “Okay Connie, you come up,” he said and Connie practically jumped with joy.

“I don’t need a countdown,” he said without even walking up to the front.

“Alright,” Shadis said pulling the trigger. Next thing we know Shadis got hit with the bullet and Connie looked like he never even moved.

Pixis looked at him and Connie calmly explained, “I grabbed the pellet midair and threw it back at him with enough force to match the paintball gun shooting it,” He said and Pixis nodded.

“Alright Eren you’re up now,” Molbit said with a smile looking at me.

I walked up and decided I was going to try and get the bonus points. If I couldn’t that’s fine, but I wanted to at least try, however, it’s going to require using both sides of my power.

Shadis started the count down and I took a breath. I stared at the barrel of the gun and waited for the second he pulled the trigger I activated my power causing the pellet to float. It was still moving towards us, but a lot slower since I didn’t use as much power to try and keep it stationary. It floated to me and I picked it up before throwing it as hard as I could and adding a little weight to it so it would splatter on impact. I hoped I added enough weight since I tried to keep it as low as possible so it didn’t hurt Shadis.

The pellet splattered and he seemed unphased and unharmed.

“You did it,” Molbit said happily.

“Good job Eren,” Pixis said as he dismissed me.

“That was the last student,” Molbit said and Shadis smiled.

“Good,” he said before turning the paintball gun on PIxis and shooting him three times.

Pixis let out a wince before laughing, “Okay, I deserved that.”

“You deserve more than that, but I don’t want to waste any more pellets,” Shadis whispered.

“You all did wonderfully, and don’t worry if you couldn’t stop the pellet this time around, as long as you know how to protect yourselves I’m happy, it’s a bonus to be able to protect others too,” Pixis said before dismissing the whole class.

I looked around before realizing that class was actually over. It seemed to go by so fast. Levi just took my hand and smiled, “let’s head back to the dorm,” he said and I nodded.

“Yeah, let’s go,” I said and we walked back to our dorm hand in hand. The tiredness hit me the second we made it inside the dorm. I let out a yawn before heading over to the bed.

“Nap time?” Levi asked and I nodded.

“Nap time.” He walked over and laid next to me letting out a wince as he laid down. “Oh, how's your back doing?” I asked.

“Sore now that the adrenaline of the class is wearing off.” Levi laughed before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close.

“I was so scared that I was going to lose you,” he said before pulling me into a kiss. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“Me too, I thought I was going to shit myself,” I laughed before getting more serious. “I was so scared, but I’m glad you tried to protect me.”

“Of course, I’ll always try and protect you,” Levi said placing a kiss on my lips. I just smiled and melted into his arms. “Alright, bedtime for you,” he said and I nodded.

“Yup bedtime for me, and for you,” I said and we both laid our heads down and fell asleep.


	70. Fear

I woke up in a panic and looked around. Eren seemed to wake up as well. “What’s up what's wrong?” he asked sitting up still a little out of it from sleep.

“Sorry, just a nightmare,” I said taking a breath, but I couldn’t help but notice that feeling of dread behind it all. I didn’t even remember my dream all I know is I was scared and panicked.

“You yelled my name,” Eren said and it caught me off guard.

“I did what?” I asked looking at him desperate for him to tell me I heard him wrong.

“You yelled my name and sounded really scared.”

I could feel all the blood run out of my face. I didn’t want to tell him that I was feeling the dread from the same dream that apparently something bad happened to him in. I don’t think I needed too. His look said it all. Shit was he feeling the same thing I was feeling. I tried to take a few breaths and get my emotions under control, but it was no use I was too panicked.

I felt a new kinda fear take over me as one of my spiraling thoughts hit me harder than the rest. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him close to me. “Levi, I’m okay,” he said wrapping his arms around me and placing a kiss on my cheek. “We don’t know if that’s what it means,” he said. So he was feeling my emotions, he was able to put everything together that I was thinking.

“But what if it does,” I whispered, “I can’t lose you.”

“You won’t,” Eren said back in a calming voice. “I promise you won’t,” he said and I felt my heart hurt. A part of me wanted to tell him not to make promises he can’t keep, but I kept my mouth shut. He’s right. We don’t know if that’s what this means. We don’t know what this feeling is from exactly.

Eren took a deep breath and mumbled, “it’s about time we head out to the field,” he said and I took a deep breath and agreed.

“Okay,” I mumbled knowing that I wasn’t going to take my eyes off him all night. I can’t lose him I don’t care if I don’t know what this means a part of me fears the worst and that’s enough for me to be on guard.

We got dressed and before I could grab anything Eren looked at me and quietly asked, “can we just take it easy tonight. Today really stressed me out and I still need some time.” His tone practically begged me.

“That’s fine, I promised I’d give you a few days, and you worked on it a little by yourself today in the gym,” I reminded him.

“Yeah, that’s what stressed me out the most,” He laughed awkwardly. “I think that was more stressful than having a gun pointed at me.”

“Why?”

“Well, the gun was scary, but it’s even scarier thinking that I could have potentially killed someone with a paintball pellet and it would be entirely my fault.” He cleared his throat and brushed off his words but I could tell he was still really scared of his powers. I know he needs time, but I don’t want him to scare himself out of ever using his powers again. “I’m going to grab my notebook,” I heard him change the subject, “do you want me to grab any of your books while I’m at it?”

“I’ll grab it,” I said helping him load up a bag to take to the field. I grabbed the blanket and we quietly headed to the cafeteria to grab a quick bite first. We ate in the cafeteria before deciding to head out to the field it was cold tonight so I packed an extra blanket even after making sure we both had jackets.

I heard Eren’s thoughts cut through the silence. His mind was racing as he tried to think of the dream I had and the dream he had the other night. He was wondering if they were connected or if they were just a coincidence. God, I hope they are just a coincidence. I hope all of this is just our minds playing a sick joke on us rather than something bad that might actually happen.

I just started opening up to people again, don’t make me regret it. Please don’t take away the people I care about, don’t take him away. I can’t lose him. I prayed to anyone who would listen.

I was snapped out of my depressing thoughts as Eren took my hand in his. “You’re shaking,” he mumbled and I realized just how much I let my emotions take control.

“Sorry.” I mumbled before taking a deep breath, “I’m going to be honest, I’m scared.”

“Me too,” Eren mumbled back looking at me with worried eyes. He cleared his throat as we stopped walking. “Here I’ll lay out the blanket,” he said shaking his head a little trying to ignore the panic welling up inside him, inside me.

He laid the blanket down and we laid down on it and I hesitated for a moment before deciding to ask, “Eren, could you lay closer to me. I just really want to hold you right now.”

He just nodded and scooted close to me. I pulled the second blanket out of the bag and laid it over us before laying the backpack up at our heads. I just held him close to me not wanting to ever let him go.

He never complained. Actually he seemed to feel the same way. He clung to me desperately and I could feel his hands trembling just as mine were earlier. I just held him closer, “everything is going to be okay. I’ll make sure of it. I promise.”

I felt those words leave my mouth and instantly knew I was going to regret them. Why was I making promises I don’t know if I could keep. We are assuming something bad will happen to Eren, but we still have no clue what any of this is. It could be something completely random and unpreventable but here I am promising him protection that I can’t guarantee.

“Thank you,” He whispered and I felt him calm down his hands stopped trembling and his grip on my shirt loosened as he looked up at me with tired eyes. “I needed to hear that,” he smiled. Even if in the end something does still happen I want you to know it’s not your fault, his thoughts finished the rest of the sentence.

Before I could say anything I felt my eyes sting as my mouth opened to speak his words cut me off.

“Can we change the topic, this shit is kinda depressing,” he said with a forced laugh.

“Okay,” I said clearing my throat as my voice cracked a little. “Why don’t you tell me about some of your story ideas?” I asked and his face lit up.

“I’d like that,” he said pulling out his notebook. I spent the whole night holding him in my arms listening to him pour his heart out about the things he was most excited about. I couldn’t help but watch the look of pure excitement on his face as he spoke, how his face would light up talking about some of the details, or how he would look at me and smile so wide when he saw that I was still listening and that I actually cared what he was talking about. He looked absolutely stunning. I love him. Wait, love? Hold your horses Levi. It’s too soon to say that it’s too soon to think that. I shook my head and focused on Eren.

The time seemed to fly by as we talked. He told me all about his ideas and I gave him some feedback and my thoughts on it. He took some notes about what I had said and written them in his notebooks. “I’ve been trying to fix that plothole for months and you did it in a minute,” Eren laughed as he wrote the last note of the night. He let out a yawn and looked at the time.

“We should head back,” I said after hearing him mentally say what time it was.

“Yeah, we have to be up in a few hours to meet up with everyone,” Eren sighed.

“Oh shit, I forgot about that,” I groaned.

We packed up the blankets and headed back to our dorm where we laid back down. I pulled Eren close to me and told him that I refuse to let go. He just laughed, "I hope you never let go."

That just made me pull him even closer. I placed a kiss on his lips, "your wish is my command," I smiled. 

He just laid his head on my chest before tiredly mumbling out, "goodnight."

"Goodnight babe," I said back as I felt my eyes start to close. Eren had already beat me to it. We both drifted off to sleep knowing our timer would be going off in just a few hours.


	71. Restless Dread

I woke up to my alarm blaring. I slowly say up before clicking it off. I let out an annoyed groan before laying back down pulling Eren close to me.

“Is it time to get up?” Eren asked with a raspy voice letting out a yawn as his eyes opened.

“If I say no will you believe me?”

“Nope,” Eren sat up and tried to slide out of bed, but he couldn’t. I kept my arms wrapped around his waist holding him in place.

“Five more minutes,” I begged knowing that if he laid back down we would probably both fall back asleep.

“Sorry hun, but we gotta get up,” he said running his fingers through my hair and moving his hand down to caress my cheek.

I let out a sigh and sat up letting him go, “fine, only because you said it so nicely,” I mumbled before getting up as I started to get ready for the day ahead of us.

We both decided to jump in the shower together to save time since we weren’t exactly moving as fast as we should. My thoughts wandered a little seeing Eren’s gorgeous body right there in front of me, but I shook them off knowing that we would really be late if we tried to do anything I was thinking. Maybe later, I mentally told myself as we finished showering,

We got dressed and before we could walk out the door Eren stopped me. “Don’t you dare forget those,” he said pointing to my headphones that were still sitting on my desk.

“Oh shit, nice catch,” I said walking back and shoving them in my pocket before heading out the hall. We locked up before we started heading to the front of the school. Eren paused after taking a few steps.

“Should we make sure Jean and Marco are ready?” he asked and I nodded.

“They better be, I swear if they are still sleeping in when we couldn’t I’m gonna kill them,” I mumbled before walking up to the door and knocking on it.

Marco opened the door a moment later with a smile. “Oh, hey guys,” he said before looking behind him, “we should be out in a minute, Jean’s still changing.”

“We were just making sure you guys were up,” Eren said with a smile, “we’re going to head to the front see you there,” he said and Marco nodded.

We headed to the front and saw Sasha, Connie, and Armin already there.

“See I told you they would be coming,” Connie said pointing to us.

We walked up and Connie smiled, “Sasha was worried that everyone was going to be late.”

“Well, I can’t speak for Mikasa and Annie, but Jean and Marco are on their way,” Eren said and Sasha nodded.

“Mikasa was just looking for her wallet when I checked on them,” Armin said.

“Good, at least we won’t have to hunt anyone down,” She said looking a little more relaxed. “I’m really excited for today. I could barely sleep at all last night because I was so excited,” Sasha said bouncing up and down.

“That’s not what you told me,” Connie said, raising an eyebrow. “You said you had a nightmare last night,” he said and the conversation I was half-listening to turned into the only thing I was focusing on.

“You had a nightmare last night?” I felt myself ask before I could stop myself. I felt Eren take my hand and give it a light squeeze.

“Yeah, but it wasn’t anything serious, at least I don’t think it was. Nothing I can really remember so I’m not too worried about it,” she shrugged it off.

“I see,” I said before wondering if anyone else was having trouble sleeping last night. Both Sasha and I had nightmares, that can’t be a coincidence. Who am I kidding of course that can be maybe I’m just paranoid, but I can’t shake this feeling.

Earth to Levi, I heard Sasha's thoughts loud and clear, you doing okay? I just gave her a little nod and she nodded back with a smile. Eren was right she was going to be in my head.

“Sorry we’re late,” Marco said walking up. I looked at Jean who looked like death.

“You look like shit,” I told Jean as he walked up.

“Thanks,” he said sarcastically before letting out a groan, “I couldn’t sleep worth a damn last night,” he said before looking at me. Our eyes locked and I didn’t even need to read his thoughts to know what he was trying to tell me. The feeling of dread was back, not just for me last night, but Jean too. Sasha’s nightmare is starting to seem less like a coincidence than I originally thought.

“Oh look Mikasa and Annie are here,” Armin said excitedly and we all turned to look as they walked up.

Annie gave us all an awkward nod and wave as she approached Mikasa looked like she was still half asleep. I could tell she was exhausted I wonder if she had trouble sleeping last night too. Before I could ask Sasha started talking.

“I was thinking we could stop by that cafe, Scouts, I think it was called, but I don’t think anyone’s hungry so if you guys want to stop we can, but if not we can just head to the shops, “she said waiting for us to answer.

“I’m not hungry,” Armin said and pretty much everyone agreed. It was too early for us to eat and most of us still wanted to sleep.

“Alright then, everyone ready to get this show on the road?” She asked happily.

“Ready as ever,” Jean said giving her a tired thumbs up.

“Yeah let’s go,” Mikasa said letting a yawn out.

“I’m not hearing much enthusiasm,” Sasha mumbled to Connie with a pout.

“Give them time to wake up,” Connie said before taking Sasha’s hand in his.

“You’re right,” she nodded and they started leading the way.

We all started walking and Mikasa and Jean fell behind the rest of us. They looked absolutely exhausted. I let go of Eren’s hand, “I’m going to check on the zombies,” I said giving him a little smile and he gave me a nod. I stopped walking until they caught up and started walking at the same slow pace they were.

“You guys doing okay?” I asked and their heads perked up. The didn’t even realize I was there until I spoke.

“I’m good, I’m just trying to stay awake,” Mikasa said, letting out a yawn.

“Did you stay up too late?” I asked hoping that maybe just maybe all of this really is just a coincidence.

“I wish,” she sighed, “Just a bad dream that kept me tossing and turning.”

When those words left her mouth Jean’s head shot up as he looked at me. He started to realize what I was doing.

“Oh, what was your dream about,” I asked hoping for something anything.

“I don’t really remember, the only thing I can remember is that horrible cliff,” she said, shaking her head. “I can’t really remember much else,” she shrugged.

“I see, seems everyone's been having a bad night I hope today makes up for it,” I said trying not to worry her.

“I hope so if I could wake up enough to enjoy it,” she laughed before realizing how far behind we were. She kinda woke up a little, “I’m gonna go catch up with everyone else,” she said while mostly looking at Annie. She ran ahead and Jean looked at me.

“You know something. What’s going on?” Jean asked almost desperately.

“I don’t know, but something is going wrong,” I sighed, “so far Mikasa, Sasha, Eren, you, and myself have had bad dreams in the last two days.”

“Marco too,” he sighed, “he had one last night. No memory of it, but woke up quite panicked,” he said and I couldn’t help but feel my heart drop even further.

“The only things I’ve heard from these dreams was Mikasa said she remembers the cliff. Eren, you, and I have both had feelings of intense dread in them. Lastly, Eren said he heard me call out his name in my nightmare.” I said before looking back at Jean. “I’m terrified of what that might mean,” I said and the look on his face said he felt the same.

Jean looked up at Eren, “he wouldn’t though… would he?” he asked.

“He’s thought about it before,” I said looking back up at Eren, “I don’t think he would but I could just be bias.”

“He’s thought about it?” Jean asked more worried than before.

“Before we started dating he was going through a hard time, but even though his thoughts sounded really bad he said he wouldn’t and the time he went out to the cliff-,” I was cut off.

“He went out there?” Jean asked as he started to panic.

“Once, but he had no intention of jumping. He still thought his powers were levitation at the time. He promised me he would never go out there again.” I said realizing that the only reason my brain was telling me he wouldn’t was because of a promise. I mean there were more factors to it, but that was the main reason. I could hear how stupid I sounded.

“A promise?” He said unconvinced, “you really think that’s going to stop him.”

“I’m not sure anymore, but I’ve been watching his thoughts and nothing is telling me he’s thinking about doing anything like that. I think we are missing a piece to this twisted ass puzzle,” I sighed.

“I hope your right,” Jean mumbled before nudging me and throwing on a smile.

“You guys are so slow,” Marco said. He and Eren had stopped walking to let us catch up.

“Sorry, I was still waking up,” Jean laughed, “I’m up now. Wide awake in fact,” he said looking to me with wide eyes that screamed how worried he was despite the smile on his face. He looked back at Jean and Marco before suggesting, “We should probably catch up with everyone else before we lose them.”

“Agreed,” I said and Marco and Eren nodded before picking up their pace running back to the group. Just as Jean and I were about to run with them Jean turned to me.

“Just watch over him and make sure he’s okay. I don’t want to lose any friends.”

“I will,” I said with a nod before we ran to catch up with the group.

After walking a little bit more we made it to the shops and everyone seemed relieved. We sat down for a few minutes to get off our feet. Everyone started talking about what they wanted to do. Jean and I, on the other hand, were quieter as we watched Eren’s behavior.

I started to feel a mild headache with everything happening around me and trying to focus only on Eren’s thoughts were getting harder since other people were talking to me which meant they were thinking about me. I gave Jean a look as I pulled out my headphones. He just nodded and I could tell he was watching Eren even closer than before. The thing is, Eren is perfectly fine. His thoughts are normal aside from wondering why Jean was staring at him he was acting completely normal. There has to be something we are missing.

“Everyone ready?” Sasha asked after our few minutes for resting had passed. I was a little confused since everyone was talking about where they wanted to go, but I was too distracted focusing on Eren to hear much of anything. I looked at Jean and saw him equally as confused when we started walking. He moved closer to me and he whispered, “do you know where we’re going?”

“No fucking clue,” I said with a shrug.

“Shit, guess we’re going to find out,” he said. After a few moments of walking, we watched as everyone turned into a makeup store.

“What the hell,” I whispered to Jean and he had the same confused look on his face.

“Weren’t you listening?” Sasha rolled her eyes seeing the confused looks on our faces. “We all decided to come here since I don’t have the correct foundation to be able to cover you, dumbasses, when you decided to leave noticeable hickeys. So I’m picking some up to help you dumb fucks,” she rolled her eyes again. “It’s almost like you two completely ignored the last ten minutes,” she groaned.

“Sorry, in one ear out the other guess I’m still a little tired,” Jean said covering for us. “Maybe after this stop, we can hit a coffee shop so we can wake up?” He suggested and Mikasa instantly jumped in.

“I second that,” she said more lively than I’ve seen here all day.

“Agreed,” I said giving myself an excuse for ignoring the conversation.

“I guess that’s fair,” Sasha said. She still looked a little tired herself so I doubt she would argue. “Alright next stop we are getting caffeine for all the zombies,” she laughed.

“I’m wide awake can I still get caffeine?” Armin asked with a smile.

“Of course,” Sasha patted him on the back, “everyone can get some caffeine.”

After Sasha walked around and picked out a few things, after testing it on all of us. We all headed to the coffee shop a few shops down. I’d normally get tea, but a part of me just wanted some bitter black coffee.

After we each placed an order I looked around for Eren and saw him leaning against the wall alone. I walked over and grabbed Eren’s hand. He gave my hand a light squeeze and a smile appeared on his face. “You having fun?” He asked.

“Yup, it is a little overwhelming though,” I said and he nodded.

“I get that,” he said, that’s why I’m standing by this wall waiting for my hot chocolate rather than with the rest of them,” he laughed.

“You got hot chocolate?” I asked and he nodded.

“I don’t care much for coffee,” he shrugged. I pulled out my headphones when I realized it was just the two of us. I checked his thoughts and again everything seemed normal. He seemed perfectly fine mentally and physically.

“So do you know why Jean keeps staring at me?” he asked a little awkwardly.

“Yeah sorry about that, I told him about my bad dream and he’s just worried.”

“Okay, that makes sense,” he laughed, “I was hoping there was an explainable reason too it. I thought I was going crazy,” he laughed before hearing his name called. He walked up and grabbed his drink and I heard my name called after.

I walked up and grabbed my drink. After taking a sip, I felt a little better. I watched Mikasa and Jean take a few sips of their coffee before perking up. After everyone got something we all met up outside the crowded coffee shop.

“Everyone here?” Sasha asked before counting each of us.

I feel like I’m on a preschool field trip and Sasha is the teacher, Eren thought and I spit out a little bit of my coffee as I burst into laughter. Of all the things I expected him to think that wasn’t one. I got a few weird looks from everyone else before they saw the big smile on Eren’s face.

“Are you teasing Levi in your head?” Sasha asked raising an eyebrow.

“You might want to put your headphones on before he makes you pop a boner,” Jean added teasing me.

“Gross,” I heard Armin mumbled.

“Get your minds out of the gutter,” I rolled my eyes, “he just thought something funny,” I huffed feeling my cheeks get a little red at the unwanted attention.

“Where to next?” Connie asked changing the subject.

“Why not the bookstore?” I suggested and I watched Armin jump for joy.

“Yes, I’ve been meaning to blow the rest of my money there,” he said happily.

“The book store it is,” Sasha laughed and we all started walking.

I only picked up two books since I still had a few left to read. Armin picked up 3 new books and happily showed them to me. They were some that I had recommended.

Eren didn’t pick up any saying he already had two back at his dorm that he needed to finish first. The only other person who ended up buying something was Annie.

We stopped by a few more little shops before deciding we should all sit down for lunch. We grabbed some food before we picked a quiet area in the busy garden, but despite that, I felt myself reaching for my headphones after a few minutes.

Eren gave me a smile as he put his hand over mine. Today, so far, was a good day despite everything that had told me otherwise. I couldn’t help but feel like something was going to take a turn and soon, but everything seemed normal and happy. I locked eyes with Jean I knew he felt it too. Everything was too normal, too happy. I don’t trust it, and I could tell neither did he.


	72. Phone Calls

After a few minutes of sitting around my phone started to ring. I excused myself to take the phone call when I saw who was calling.

“Hey, Levi sorry to call out of the blue I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Isabel’s mom said quickly.

“You’re not interrupting anything,” I said back happy to hear from her.

“Oh good, I just wanted to call and see if we were still meeting up tomorrow at the same place,” she said and I remembered promising to meet up with her tomorrow and bringing Eren.

“Yeah for sure, I just have to double-check with Eren to make sure he can still come, but I will definitely be there,” I said with a normal tone before practically panicking in my head. Shit shit shit. With everything going on I think I forgot to ask him.

“Okay, text me back when you get the chance.”

“Will do,” I said before saying goodbye.

After hanging up, I went straight over to Eren. “Hey, um I forgot to ask you something really important,” I said and he looked at me.

“What’s up?”

“Well, tomorrow, do you have any plans?” I asked and he took a moment to think before looking back at me.

“No, none I can think of,” he shrugged.

“Would you mind going with me to meet Isabel’s mom?” I asked expecting him to awkwardly decline.

“Sure,” he smiled.

“Wait really?”

“Yeah, why not, she means a lot to you, so if you want me to meet her then, of course, I will,” he said and I gave him a hug.

“Thanks, Eren,” I said before pulling out my phone and texting her back.

“He’s for sure coming too,” I texted back. I got an instant response.

“Yay, I’m so excited to meet him,” she messaged and I smiled. I’m excited for her to meet him too.

I looked up and noticed someone was missing. “Where’s Armin?”

“Oh, he got a phone call a little after you did,” Eren said before pointing a little ways away where Armin was talking on the phone.

I watched as he hung up and put the phone away before walking back over to us. He plopped back down where he was sitting before and continued eating. I just shrugged and looked around. Everyone else was in conversation and having a good time. I noticed that even Jean was smiling. I let out a sigh of relief seeing everyone doing okay even if it’s just for the moment.

“Alright,” Sasha spoke up when everyone finished eating. “Ready to get back to shopping?” she asked and everyone agreed. We all stood up and headed to the nearest stores.

“Could we stop there?” Eren asked awkwardly pointing at a store that looked like it sold office supplies. He probably wanted to pick up more notebooks and pens.

“Sure,” Sasha said happily. “That’s okay with everyone right?”

Everyone agreed that it was okay, everyone except for Armin who was off in his own head.

“Armin?” Sasha asked tapping him on the shoulder.

“Hmm?” He snapped back to reality giving her a smile.

“We’re going to that store,” she pointed to it, “Is that okay?”

“Oh, yeah,” he laughed awkwardly, “sorry, now that I’ve eaten I’m a little tired. Guess I should have saved the caffeine.”

We all headed into the store and I kept an eye on Armin just to double-check what he said. I pulled out my headphones and tried to listen to his thoughts, but there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Most of his thoughts were what was going on around us. His feelings were a bit unusual since he wasn’t feeling tired from what I could feel. I couldn’t feel much of anything from him. Then again my powers work better with stronger emotions as well as proximity and he’s a pretty good distance away from me.

He looked up from the items on the shelves and his eyes met mine. He gave me a smile and a wave. I gave him a wave back with a little smile and he just went back to looking at the shelves.

I looked behind me and noticed that Eren was gone. I felt myself start to panic before taking a deep breath. Just because he’s not in my line of sight doesn’t mean something bad has happened to him, I mentally told myself before calmly walking down the rows looking for him. After looking down a few rows I found him. Jean was with him and I let out a sigh of relief.

“Hey Levi come get your man,” Jean said when he saw me enter the aisle. “He keeps asking me which notebook to buy, I think that’s more up your alley than it is mine,” he said just wanting an excuse to leave.

I walked up to them and gave Jean a nod and Jean took that as his chance to escape. He left the aisle and I just shook my head. “So which ones were you thinking about?” I asked turning my focus to Eren.

“I’m in between these two,” Eren said holding them up. “I really like the design of this one, but the pages don’t have any lines on them. This one has really nice lines and spacing, but the cover is a bit bland.”

I took a look at them before looking up at Eren with a smile. “Why are you asking when you already have your mind made up,” I asked and watched as he gave me a confused look before he could ask me what I meant I pointed to the bland notebook.

“The lines and spacing are more important to you so you’ve already mentally chose this one,” I said and he looked at the book in his hand before letting out a sigh.

“You’re right,” he laughed before putting down the other notebook. “Still I wish this one didn’t look this bland.”

I took one more look at this notebook before giving Eren a smile. I grabbed his hand and led him down a few rows before finding what I was looking for. I picked up some sharpies before looking at him. “I’ll buy these and we can design something to make it look nicer with these,” I said giving him a smile.

I watched as his eyes sparkled before he threw his arms around me and gave me a kiss. “You’re the best,” he said after pulling away from the kiss.

“I try,” I said, trying to hide the red starting to spread across my cheeks.

“Get a room you two,” Jean rolled his eyes as he turned down the aisle this time with Marco next to him.

“No thanks we prefer and audience,” Eren said back making Jean choke. I had to stop myself from laughing as Marco’s face looked both mortified but also amused.

We headed to the front and paid. We all met up outside the store and everyone seemed to look a little worn out from all the walking. “Why don’t we all head to the park and just hang out there for the rest of the day?” Sasha suggested. I guess she noticed everyone's fatigue too. It didn’t help that most of us didn’t get a lot of sleep.

“I like that idea,” Mikasa said letting out a yawn. The caffeine was definitely wearing off, and it wasn’t just her either, Jean looked like he was ready to collapse, even Armin looked and felt exhausted.

“Actually guys, I think I’m just going to head home,” Armin said, letting out a sigh, “my feet are killing me and I’m getting really tired,” he said quietly.

“Alright, do we all want to head back?” Sasha asked looking around. That's when I noticed her thoughts. She really wanted to go back too since she was just as tired as the rest of us.

“I think it’s for the best, we are all exhausted,” I said helping her out.

“Okay then, let’s all head back. I like this even better since we aren’t splitting up,” she said happily.

We all walked back to the dorm and I knew that most if not all of us were going back to take a nap. When Eren and I got back to the dorm I heard Eren mumbled out a question.

“Are you okay you don’t look so well,” he asked and I just shook my head before looking at the time. I noticed that it was right around the time that Eren and I usually get some rest.

“Sleep,” is all I managed to say. I was so exhausted out of my mind. I know I’ve gone longer without sleep, but for some reason, I was running on empty. I guess just being around everyone and being on alert all day takes a lot out of me.

“Agreed,” Eren laughed and we climbed in bed. He cuddled up next to me and I smiled. “Hey Levi, you didn’t overdo it again right?” he asked making sure since I was overly exhausted.

“I don’t think so. I think I was just on edge all day and wore myself out.”

“You still think something’s going to happen?” I knew the question was coming but I still didn’t have an answer for it.

“I don’t know,” I finally said. “Everything is telling me that there’s something coming, but today was so normal. Nothing happened and I know I should be happy that nothing happened but I can’t help but feel like I missed something. Maybe something did happen but we won’t know until later because it didn’t happen to who I was focusing on. Maybe it was someone who wasn’t even in our friend group. Maybe-,”

“Levi,” Eren put his hand on my cheek pulling me from my spiraling thoughts. “You’re going to panic yourself.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled taking a deep calming breath, “ I’m just scared that maybe today wasn’t as normal as I thought, or maybe nothing happened at all and I’m completely losing my mind,” I groaned.

“I’m hoping that nothing happens and that all of us were just coincidentally having bad feelings for no reason.”

“That would be too easy.”

“I know,” he sighed, “but if I keep telling myself that’s what’s happening then I won’t panic or overthink things too much.”

There was a long silence between us before I heard Eren mumbled, “In reality, I’m scared too.”

I took a deep breath and just pulled him closer and placed a kiss on his forehead. “We should get some sleep,” I suggested to try and get off this terrifying topic.

“Yeah, we should,” Eren agreed.

We both closed our eyes and let sleep overtake us before we have to wake up to head out to the field.


	73. Eren

When my alarm went off I sat up I felt better than I did earlier. Eren was already awake and sitting at his desk when I woke up.

“Did you sleep okay?,” he said as I turned off my alarm. His question sounded off, not the question itself, but the tone behind it. He sounded worried.

“I think I did. What about you?” I ask and he just shrugged.

“Couldn’t sleep,” he sighed and I knew there was more that he wasn’t telling me. He wasn’t looking at me and he was quieter than usual.

“Any reason why?” I asked hoping he would open up about it.

“No,” he shook his head before standing up, “I’m going to get ready,” he said before disappearing into the bathroom. Something was definitely off with him. Did I miss something in the few hours I’ve been asleep?

He came back out a moment later and quietly waited for me to get ready. I went into the bathroom and when I came back out I saw him packing up the bag to bring to the field.

“Did you want to bring anything other than your book?” he asked holding it up.

“Just the book is fine,” I said trying to brush past that and just get down to what was going on with him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, just tired,” he said with a convincing yawn. I didn’t buy it one bit. His thoughts didn’t indicate anything was wrong, but he knows I’m reading them. If he doesn’t want me to know something he’s pretty good at hiding it. “We should go,” Eren said after zipping up the backpack and grabbing the blanket. He headed out of the room without even looking back to see if I was going with him.

I locked the dorm and hurried after him. When I caught up to him he was quiet and his gaze was at the floor. We walked to the cafeteria with nothing but an awkward silence between us. He didn’t even so much as glance at me. Did he even realize I was right next to him? His thoughts were nothing but filler thinking about the pattern on the floor and what food was in the cafeteria. They were just a front.

We got our food from the cafeteria and headed out to the field. I waited for him to set up the blanket and for us to get settled down before addressing the elephant in the room.

“So what’s really going on?” I asked.

“I don’t know what you mean?”

“Bullshit. You and I both know something’s wrong. Did I do something wrong?”

His eyes shot up to mine with panic behind them, “what, no.” His voice was quiet but rushed.

“Then what is it? Because you keep giving me the cold shoulder.”

“I don’t mean to, I just, it’s just,-” he let out a frustrated sigh, “It’s not you. You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just me. My brain is overthinking every little thing. I don’t know what’s going to happen and with everything that is going on it’s just, I just-,” he paused for a minute getting more frustrated at himself before finally blurting out louder than before, “I’m just scared okay.” He let out a shaky breath before looking back up at me. His voice got really quiet as he spoke up again. “I mean with all the scary feelings going around and you calling out my name in your dream, how could I not be.”

“Eren,” I said scooting closer to him and putting my hand on his.

“I know you said you would protect me, and I know you’re just as scared as I am but I can’t help but think the worst and it’s getting to me,” he took a deep breath and squeezed my hand.

I just pulled him into a hug. I didn’t know what else to say. He was right. I was scared too and it’s not like my mind was giving me happy outcomes to any of this. All I could do was pull him close and hold him. He was trembling and his breathing was shaky as he tried to calm himself down.

After a few minutes and a few deep breaths he spoke up, “sorry,” he whispered, “I just needed to get that out I guess.” He sounded a lot better now, but there was still a sense of fear around him.

“I’m going to work on some story stuff,” he said grabbing the backpack and giving me a smile, “did you want your book?”

“Sure.” He handed me my book. “Shit.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I should have brought another book, there’s only like a chapter or two left in this one,” I sighed.

“Hey I asked if one book was all you wanted,” Eren shrugged before cracking open his notebook.

“I know, I know,” I shook my head before opening the book. I tried to read slowly to drag it out, but it didn’t help all I did was kill 5 minutes more than normal. After I finished the two chapters I had left I closed the book and looked up at the sky. I let out a groan. “It’s going to be a long night.”

“Well after you finish that one you can always run back to the dorm and grab another,” he suggested.

“I didn’t even think about that. I might do that,” I said with a nod before realizing that would mean leaving Eren out here alone. “Actually never mind,” I said wrapping my arms around him.

“Okay, I know I said I was scared but 5 minutes isn’t going to kill me,” he rolled his eyes.

“I know, but still.” I let out a sigh, “why don’t you come with me?”

“Because one of us has to watch to make sure no one goes to the cliff, you know the whole reason we’re out here in the first place.”

“I know, but-.”

“I’ll be fine,” he rolled his eyes and let out a laugh, “just go get your damn book.”

“Fine, don’t move. I’ll be quick,” I said before standing up and running as fast as I could to the dorm. I made it back to the dorm and of course, struggled to unlock the door even though I only had the one key it still took me a minute to actually get the door to unlock.

It took me an extra minute to find the next book in the series. I looked at my bookshelves checking everywhere and it was nowhere to be found. I looked into some of the shopping bags from last week that I couldn’t find a place for. Nope, still nothing. That's when I saw it just sitting there on my desk mocking me. I rolled my eyes and grabbed the damn book.

I locked up the dorm room before running back out to the field. I was out of breath when I finally looked at where the blanket was just a little further. I froze in my tracks when I noticed something.

Eren wasn’t there. I looked all around just to see him by the tree lines running towards the cliff. “Eren,” I whispered before my feet took over. I dropped the book ran as fast as I could.

“Eren!” I started to call louder as I made it to the tree line. I could feel my heart racing and the air in my lungs thinning as I screamed his name as loud as I can.

“Eren!” I yelled again seeing him just a little in front of me. He was close to the edge of the cliff. I was so close yet so far from him. I know he could hear me, but he wasn’t turning around. “Eren!”

He reached the cliff and I yelled as loud as I could, “Eren! No! Please don’t jump!” It didn’t help. He jumped before I could even finish speaking. I felt my legs start to give out as I ran to the edge I collapsed to my knees at the base of the cliff. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t think. Wake up, wake up Levi, wake up. This has to be a nightmare. “Wake up!”


	74. Jump

I watched as Levi got up and started running towards the dorms to get his book. When he was far enough away I let myself think freely. My chest hurt. It was so hard to breathe. I couldn’t sleep at all tonight and just when I started falling asleep I heard something that made me wake up instantly. “Eren, don’t jump.” Levi had said in his sleep.

Don’t jump. Is that what is going to happen to me? Why though? I’ve never been happier, but suddenly everyone is on edge and my name is the only one that’s come up. I’m scared I don’t know what to do. I don’t what to burden Levi with these emotions, I know he’s worried enough as is, but I don’t know if I should tell him. He clearly doesn’t remember his dream or telling me not to jump in his sleep. I feel like telling him would just panic him more.

I looked up from my notebook and tried to take a few deep breaths. I need to calm back down before Levi gets back. I looked around at the scenery to try and calm down to focus on anything other than my thoughts. That's when I saw something unusual. I sat there just staring at the tree line for a moment before realizing what I was seeing. That’s a person. Shit, they are running towards the cliff.

Without thinking I sprang to my feel and bolted after them. I couldn’t see who it was from this distance. All I knew was that I had to run as fast as I could to catch up with them. I have to stop them. Even if it means breaking my promise to Levi to not go anywhere near the cliff. I made it to the tree line and just kept running. My heart was beating so fast I could barely hear someone calling my name over the thumping in my ears.

That’s Levi’s voice. Shit, this probably looks bad, but I don’t have time to stop and explain. I just have to catch up with that person. I kept running, I saw a figure at the edge of the cliff. Before I could yell at them to stop they went over the edge and they disappeared from sight. Shit. I pushed myself to go faster despite my body telling me to stop. I took a deep breath and without hesitation jumped off the cliff after the person.

“Eren! No! Please don’t jump!” I heard Levi yelled from behind me. Shit too late for that. At least I know the context behind those words now. Well, Levi, you have faith in my powers, I hope you were right, or we are both screwed.

I used my powers to make myself heavier to catch up with the person who had jumped before me. I started falling faster and the ground was getting closer to the both of us. This better work. When I was next to them I grabbed them and pulled them close to me before using every ounce of strength to make us weightless. It came faster than expected and definitely knocked the wind out of the both of us, but hey it’s better than dying. I slowed us down a bit so we didn’t catapult into the sky. After gasping for air for a moment I finally was able to catch my breath.

On the way back up I saw who I was holding and instantly felt tears come to my eyes. I was only able to ask one question. “Why?”

“I’m so sorry,” he mumbled, “I’m sorry.” He hugged me tight and just cried on my shoulder. As we neared the top of the cliff I just hugged him tightly. I set us down gently away from the edge and we both fell to our knees.

“Eren!” I heard Levi say his voice was broken and his face filled with tears. I knew he was going to yell at me and ask me what the hell I was doing until he froze. “Armin?” He asked seeing the person who I was holding. I watched as Levi pieced together what had happened. Well, there’s one less thing I have to explain.

“I’m sorry,” Armin mumbled again clinging to my shirt. Levi just sat down next to us and threw his arms around both of us. “I don’t know what I’m doing anymore,” his voice shook. “I was about to walk away. I was starting to have doubts, but my foot phased and then I was falling and, and-,” Armin rushed out before fully breaking down in my arms.

After a few minutes, he took some deep breaths and we were able to talk to him. “Why were you going to the cliff?” I asked and I felt his hands tighten on my shirt.

“I wanted to jump, but I couldn’t bring myself to actually do it. My power did it for me.”

“Why did you want to jump?”

Armin started shaking as he tried to hold back tears. “He’s gone!” Armin blurted out, “he’s dead. He was everything to me, and now he’s gone and I can’t even say goodbye,” his voice started to shake as he started sobbing again.

Levi tapped my shoulder getting me to look at him. I pointed to his own head before pointing to Armin. Okay, so Levi’s trying to tell me he read Armin’s thoughts. His grandpa died. He mouthed to me.

I took a deep breath and felt tears come to my own eyes. Armin’s grandpa was the most caring person I’ve ever met. We hung out at his house a lot and he would always take us out to lunch and bring us snacks. He was like a grandpa to Mikasa and me too. No wonder Armin’s so upset. I just held him close to me and took some deep breaths.

“When?” I asked trying to hide the fact that I was crying now too. I don’t think I did a very good job.

“I got a call earlier from the cops. Apparently the neighbor called them to check up on him since she hadn’t seen him all day and when they checked they found him still lying in bed.” Armin said taking some deep breaths between his words.

Armin’s grandpa was always outside sitting on the porch every chance he had. It sounds like he passed in his sleep. I took a deep breath trying to focus more on comforting Armin rather than letting myself break down.

Levi just held us both and I hugged Armin closer. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered rubbing his back. We just sat there for a while. I don’t know how much time passed. It took us a while to calm down. Eventually, Armin had stopped crying. I don’t know if it was because he was able to hold back the tears, or if there were no tears left to cry, but he

“Thank you for saving me,” he mumbled taking a few deep breaths. “Why did you jump off the cliff after me?”

“Because I care about you. You’re my friend I’m not letting you off the hook that easily. You can’t just die on me what the hell were you thinking. If you’re jumping then I’m jumping too. Mostly to bring your ass right back up here and chew you out for trying to die without Mikasa and my permission,” I said trying to lighten the subject. It worked I got Armin to laugh.

“I really am sorry,” he said getting more serious. “ I didn’t mean to. Well I mean I came out here with every intention of jumping, but I changed my mind but then…” his voice drifted off. “Well you know what happened next,” he mumbled.

“Why didn’t you tell us earlier? You know we are always there for you,” I said putting my hand on his shoulder.

“I know. Earlier I was just in denial, I didn’t want to think about it I pretended it wasn’t real that it was just a nightmare.

“You were in shock,” Levi said with a shake of his head, “I should have known,” he mumbled.

“You tried to ready my emotions earlier huh?” Armin asked.

“Yeah, and nothing came up, literally nothing at all. Then again I wasn’t next to you so that could have had something to do with it, but shock makes so much more sense. Shock is so hard to read since it could look like anything.” Levi just let out a frustrated sigh.

“Sorry,” Armin mumbled. “But once everything hit, it hit hard,” Armin shook his head. I couldn’t stop crying and all I could think about was if I could see him again and then the cliff popped into my mind and well, yeah.” He took a deep breath.

“Connie didn’t say anything?” Levi asked and Armin just kinda shook his head.

“Connie’s in Sasha’s dorm tonight,” he said awkwardly.

“Damn him. I’m gonna kick his ass I swear,” Levi mumbled and Armin let out a little snicker.

“Why don’t we all head back to the dorms?” I suggested. It was better than sitting at the edge of this cliff. Besides Armin looked like he was freezing.

“I’d like that,” Armin said. I helped them to their feet before feeling really light-headed. I grabbed Levi’s shoulder as I almost lost my footing. I took a deep breath and blinked trying to get my vision to unblur.

“You okay?” Levi asked practically holding me up.

“Just a little disoriented,” I said shaking my head a little as everything started to fix, “I think my powers have a bigger drawback than I realized.” I let out an awkward laugh before we all headed towards the dorm.

Levi checked the time and it was about time we headed back anyway. We stopped by the blanket and packed up our stuff. I watched as Levi walked a little ways away before picking up his book that looked like it was thrown there.

We started walking towards the dorms when Armin nudged me, “I don’t really want to be alone tonight,” he whispered awkwardly to me.

“I looked at Levi for permission assuming he had already read my thoughts. He gave me a nod and I proceeded with my offer. “Why don’t you stay in our dorm tonight?”

Armin froze for a minute before looking at Levi and back at me. I could tell he didn’t know what to say. “I-I mean isn’t that going to be awkward?” He asked.

“Not at all,” Levi said with a smile, “we are happy to have you,” he said and Armin nodded.

“Okay then,” he smiled. “Thanks, guys.”

“We’re going to stop by your dorm so you can grab some clothes and whatever else you need,” Levi said and Armin nodded.

We did just that we headed to Armin’s dorm and waited outside while he grabbed some spare clothes for the night. While we were in the hall Levi wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close.

“You scared the hell out of me,” he mumbled.

“I’m sorry, I broke my promise,” I said placing a kiss on his lips.

“I’ll make an exception this time,” I heard him say as his hands wrapped themselves in the fabric of my shirt. “Just please never do that again.”

“Believe me if it can be helped I never want to do that again in my life that was the scariest thing I’ve ever done. However, there are two upsides. I saved Armin, and I think I mastered my powers in the process. Well maybe not mastered but I definitely did something right.” I said proudly.

Levi just shook his head with a smile before pulling me into a kiss. When he pulled away I heard him start to speak

“I don’t care if I’m saying this too early, seeing you go over that cliff I thought I would never have a chance to tell you so I’m telling you now. Eren, I love you.”

I froze hearing those words. I just pulled him back into a kiss before smiling like an idiot, “I love you too.”

Armin came back out and looked at the two of us before I blurted out, “Levi just told me he loved me.” To give some context to what he was seeing.

“Congrats,” Armin smiled giving Levi a thumbs up. We all headed back to our dorm. I offered my bed to Armin and Levi and I laid in Levi’s bed.

I felt exhausted but I couldn’t bring myself to go to sleep. Not until Armin was sleeping peacefully. After a while, I heard some muffled sniffles coming from the other side of the room. I slid out of Levi’s arms. He gave me a nod before we both walked over to Armin.

Levi sat on the bed and put his hand on Armin’s back and rubbed circles into it through the covers. I slid my hand under the covers and found Armin’s hand. He grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze before rolling over in the bed and sitting up to hug us.

I ended up holding Armin close and Levi rubbed his back. It took a little while but he ended up crying himself to sleep. I don’t know when Levi and I ended up falling asleep but we all ended up sleeping in the same bed that night.


	75. Aftermath

I opened my eyes and realized there was not one, but two people in bed with me. I sat up trying to remember what the hell lead to this. I looked at both Eren and Armin and the memories flooded back to me. “Oh,” I mumbled before sliding out of the bed. I headed into the bathroom to start my morning routine. When I came out they were both awake, but just barely.

Armin’s eyes looked swollen and Eren’s didn’t look much better. My eyes hurt too since I was crying a lot of their tears last night. There were a lot of emotions last night.

“Good morning,” Eren yawned out wincing as he rubbed his eyes.

Armin was looking at Eren and me awkwardly before mumbling, “I woke up next to him.”

After hearing his thoughts I had to laugh a little. He wanted to make sure I wasn’t mad at him for sleeping in the same bed as Eren.

“I know, we all fell asleep in that bed,” I said and watched as he relaxed.

“Oh,” he laughed. “Thank you guys for letting me stay in here.”

“Any time,” I smile before walking over and sitting on the side of the bed. “So, now that we are all in a calmer headspace I think we should all talk about what happened last night.”

“I agree,” Eren said crossing his legs and looking to Armin. He put a hand on his shoulder, “I want to make sure that something like that will never happen again.”

“It won’t,” Armin nodded. “I had a moment where it felt like nothing else mattered in the world, and I was so wrong to think that. Throwing myself off that cliff isn’t going to bring him back. In the end, it will do more harm than good. Especially knowing that you were right behind me and didn’t even hesitate to do so.”

“Mikasa would be right behind us too. I know she’s indestructible, but honestly, she’d find a way.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Armin shook his head, “it scares me more to know that you didn’t even hesitate to jump. I mean I know you knew your powers would save us but-.”

“I didn’t,” Eren cut him off.

“What?”

“I didn’t know my powers would save us. I mean it was my plan, but it could have easily failed. Especially since recently I haven’t had the most control over them.” The only thing that I think saved us is because I knew another person’s life was on the line. That and because you had so much faith in me. His thoughts finished what he was saying. He didn’t want to freak out Armin anymore so he didn’t bother saying that out loud.

Armin just sat there speechless staring at Eren with a pale face and wide eyes. “So you were prepared to die,” he asked and Eren just sort of shrugged.

“I mean I didn’t want to die, but yeah I had planned for the worst,” he let out a sigh, “look I didn’t want to sit back and do nothing if there was a chance that I could do something. If I sat back and did nothing you’d be dead.”

“I know, but that scares me even more now,” Armin wrapped his arms around Eren and closed his eyes, “please don’t ever do that again.”

“Trust me I’m more than happy to never do anything like that again, but I mean if it means saving someone else then do I even have a choice?”

“Yes,” I cut in, “you have me handle it. I could do the same thing you did but with more control over my powers.”

“Well, you weren’t around at the moment.”

“I know that, but never again. I can’t leave your dumb ass alone for five goddamn minutes without you hurling yourself off a cliff.”

“I know right, he’s so reckless,” Armin crossed his arms to scold Eren.

I smacked him upside the head before turning to him, “you’re not off the hook either. Both of you are dumbasses.”

“Well we did grow up together,” Armin shrugged.

“and stupid is contagious,” Eren finished.

“I'm losing brain cells just listening to you two,” I said before sliding off the bed. I felt confident that Armin wasn’t going to do it again. His thoughts showed him being more scared of what happened than anything and checking his memory of the situation it seemed he was telling the truth. He did seem to be thinking of leaving before his foot phasing through causing him to fall.

“I’m going to get ready, aren’t we supposed to be meeting with Isabel’s mother?” Eren asked causing me to remember.

Oh shit, I almost forgot again… I’m horrible, but then again with everything that happened last night I’m surprised Eren was able to remember. “That’s right,” I said trying to pretend like I didn't forget. “I should probably text her and check what time she wanted to meet up.”

“I’m going to head back to my dorm,” Armin said awkwardly before Eren stopped in the bathroom doorway.

“Like hell you are,” he said walking back up to him. “We both know Connie is probably still in Sasha’s room and the last thing you need is to be alone.”

“Well, where should I go?” Armin asked already knowing the answer.

“Mikasa, besides you need to tell her what happened, maybe not everything. If you don’t want to bring up what happened last night then that’s fine but you need to at least tell her about grandpa.”

“I know,” he sighed. “It’s not a conversation I’m looking forward too,” Armin looked down at the floor before looking back up to Eren changing the subject a little. “And you better believe we aren’t telling her about last night. The last thing I need is for her to lecture me.”

“Okay, then be sure to leave that part out and Levi and I’ll do the same,” he said looking at me to agree with him.

“As long as it doesn’t happen again, but if those thoughts start coming back then maybe I’ll tell her,” I shrugged.

“Trust me they won’t,” Armin nodded.

“We’ll see,” I sighed, giving him a smile making it seem like I wasn’t going to say anything. Honestly, I don’t know if I will or not but just on the small chance I do I don’t want to make promises.

“Thank you guys.”

“Of course, now I’m going to get ready and then I’ll walk you over to Mikasa’s dorm and help you explain everything.

I turned my focus to my phone as a new message appeared. Mom responded. “I’ve actually just finished the drive down here and was going to ask you the same thing.”

“How about 45 minutes?” I texted back. That gives us time to finish getting ready, walk Armin to Mikasa’s dorm, and walk over there.

“Perfect, see you then!” She responded and I smiled before putting my phone away. Eren came out of the bathroom and Armin went in.

I told Eren and he gave me a nervous smile. “I hope she likes me.”

“I have yet to meet a person that she hasn’t liked,” I said before a memory popped into my head, “actually that’s a lie. She didn’t like my uncle Kenny, but to be fair I didn't like him either.”

“Good to know,” Eren laughed.

Armin came out of the room and we headed to Mikasa’s dorm. “I don’t want to bother them,” Armin mumbled as we approached the door.

“Nonsense,” Eren shook his head, “you know she never thinks that.”

“I know, but still maybe they had plans?”

“Doubt it,” Eren said before looking at me and thinking I just hope they are awake. I looked back at him before shaking my head. He should have figured that out first.

Eren knocked since Armin was too nervous. Mikasa opened the door and she seemed wide awake and was even dressed. There was no sign of Annie in the room she must have had other plans.

“Hey Mikasa, did you have plans today?” He asked awkwardly.

“I was just about to go ask you and Armin if you guys wanted to go to the cafe today,” she said before smiling,” but you guys came to me.

“Um, well, Sina Rose cafe will have to wait,” he said awkwardly before nudging Armin hoping he would say something but his eyes were glued to the floor. He didn’t want to be the one to tell her. He knew how much it would kill her to get this news and she seemed to be in such a happy mood.

“Can I talk to you for a moment,” I said getting her attention knowing the other two didn’t have the balls to say anything. I handed my phone to Eren so there wouldn’t be any distractions while I was talking to her.

“Um, okay,” she said, letting me in her room while the other two cowards waited in the hallway. Why did I have to be the one to break it to her I didn’t know him. I don’t know her connection with him more than what they told me.

“What’s up?” She asked and I took a deep breath. I was the wrong person to do this.

“You might want to sit down.” When those words left my mouth her heart instantly sank. She sat down and looked at me afraid of what I had to say.

“Armin’s grandpa passed away,” I said quickly hoping just saying it would make this go by quicker.

Her mouth opened before closing again. Her eyes fell to the floor before she nodded. “Do you know how it happened?”

“He passed away in his sleep,” I said remembering what Armin had told us.

“Well, at least he went peacefully,” she said taking a deep breath. I could tell she was holding back tears.

“I know this must be hard on you-.”

“Hard on me?” she asked before looking up at me, “what about Armin how’s he doing. She went from pure sadness to panic.

“Well, that’s why I wanted to talk to you,” I said before looking at the door. “Armin’s not in a great place, he needs as much comfort as possible.” I let out a sigh before shaking my head, “look you can’t tell them I told you any of this, but last night-”

After Levi finished talking with Mikasa they both headed back into the hallway. I put Levi’s phone back in my pocket as I looked up at them. She looked normal, but her smile was definitely gone. “Armin you can go in the room, but I want to talk to Eren really quick.” She said and he went into the room.

The second the door closed I was smacked upside the head. “Are you an idiot? Jumping off a fucking cliff without having a backup plan?” She whisper yelled at me.

“I thought you weren’t going to tell her?” I looked at Levi.

“I’m not going to let Armin know that I know what happened. He doesn’t need that right now, but Levi figured I needed to have the whole picture to help comfort him better and know where he is mentally.” Mikasa sighed, “but you, on the other hand, what the fuck Eren!”

Thanks a lot Levi. You do realize half the reason I was in agreement to not tell her was because she would kick my ass right? I asked mentally and saw him smile. Fuck you. I thought and he laughed.

“We are going to talk about this later,” she whisper yelled at me again before looking at the door, “I don’t want to leave him alone for too long.” She headed into her dorm and I turned to Levi still rubbing my head where she smacked me.

“Great now I have to meet Isabel’s mother with a concussion.”

“I’m sure she won’t mind,” Levi laughed, “besides I’ve seen you with a real concussion this doesn’t compare.”

“Fuck you.”

“I love you,” he said and as mad as I wanted to be at him I couldn’t.

“I love you too,” I smiled as we walked to the coffee shop.

When we made it to the coffee shop Levi noticed she wasn’t here yet. He checked the time and saw that we were a few minutes early. “Let’s grab a table,” He suggested and I nodded.

“I texted Jean from your phone this morning. I told him it was me and guess what he said.”

“What’s that?” Levi asked.

“Well, he said that the first half of last night he wasn’t able to sleep at all, but after a certain point he and Marco both slept through the night without a single bad dream after that.”

“That’s great,” Levi smiled.

“I told him I think the issue is gone and that we won’t have to worry anymore. He asked me how I was so sure and I told him I couldn’t tell him but to take my word on this one.”

“And? Did he say anything else?”

“Well, aside from asking me a million times if I was sure he mostly just said he was happy to be able to get a full night’s sleep again.”

“I think we all are,” Levi smiled before his attention drifted from me to the front door where a woman had just walked in. He waved her over and I felt my heart start to beat faster.

She gave Levi a hug before taking a seat in the chair she reached her hand out to shake mine, “You must be Eren,” she said giving me a warm smile.

“And you must be Ms. Magnolia,” I said just praying I wasn’t butchering her last name. Levi told me it earlier but I’m so nervous right now I can’t think straight. I glanced at Levi who was trying so hard not to laugh at me. “Fuck you.”

“Maybe later,” he whispered and I elbowed him.

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” I said with a big smile.

“All good things I hope,” she laughed a little and I gave her a nod. “Levi’s told me a little about you as well.”

“Uh oh,” I laughed, “I hope it’s nothing too embarrassing,” I said jokingly.

“No no, nothing like that,” she laughed, “he told me how you were the one who helped him open up,” she said and I watched as Levi awkwardly shifted in his seat as his face went red. I didn’t know what he was embarrassed about until she finished the rest of her sentence. “He also told me how he would be lost without you.”

I put my hand over my heart and looked at him, “awe really.”

“I said no such thing,” He mumbled not taking his eyes off the table. “I’m going to get everyone some coffee,” he said before leaving the table as fast as possible.

“He’s still shy as ever about his emotions I see,” she whispered to me.

“Extremely, but he’s working on opening up still. I actually got an “I love you” out of him if you believe it.” I said and she looked so shocked.

“Really now?” she said looking back at him fidgeting in line. I know for a fact he’s still listening in. He’s not that far from us and the coffee shop doesn’t have very many people here today. “That’s a big step for him.” She definitely sounded like a proud mother.

I couldn’t help but look back at Levi with my thoughts aimed at him. I love you, babe, even if you are extremely embarrassed, I thought before watching his face explode with a bright red tint as he looked down at the floor. I couldn’t help but smile at his cute awkward ass.

“You really care about him,” I heard her say before focusing on the conversation at hand.

“I really do,” I said back with a smile.

“I’m glad. You too seem really happy together. I’ve always wanted the best for him and I’m glad he’s found it.”

I just sat there at a loss for words so I just said the first thing that came out, “I’m honored.”

Levi came back to the table with two coffees and a hot chocolate for me. “You guys are embarrassing,” he mumbled.

“That’s what you get for eavesdropping on people's conversations,” she said and I laughed realizing that she knew he was listening to our conversation the whole time too.

We talked a little longer before we finished our drinks. “Well it was nice seeing you both,” she said as we were about to part ways.

“We should make this a weekly thing,” Levi suggested and she nodded.

“I’m okay with that if you are,” she smiled.

“I’d love that,” he smiled.

“And you, don’t be a stranger,” she said to me before pulling me into a hug. “I’d love to see you again.”

“Of course,” I smiled. “I hope to see you again too Ms. Magnolia.”

“You can call me mom if you like,” she said with a smile.

I looked at Levi and back to her with a smile, “okay, I hope to see you again too mom,” I said correcting myself. It’s been a while since I've called anyone that and it actually felt nice.

“Look’s like you’ve adopted another one,” Levi laughed.

“Always,” she smiled, “well if you boys ever need me I’m just a phone call away.”

“Thanks, mom,” Levi said giving her a hug before we said our goodbyes.

“So?” Levi asked as we started walking aimlessly around.

“She’s really nice,” I said with a smile.

“Yeah, she’s a big sweetheart. She loves to embarrass me though,” he laughed.

“Yeah, but so do I,” I said before pulling him into a kiss.

We both decided to spend the day around the shops with each other and even stopped at a food place later in the day. By the time we got back to the dorm, we were exhausted.

“We should get some sleep before tonight,” I said with a smile.

“Oh, and why is that?” Levi asked knowing I was clearly leading to something.

“Well, I think now is a better time than ever to test out your plan with the scale or whatever,” I said.

“Oh?” Levi looked a little shocked.

“Yeah, I’ve never had a more positive outlook on my powers. I mean saving someone’s life that’s as positive as it can get right?”

“I mean, you’re not wrong,” Levi laughed before taking my hands. “Then I agree we need to head straight to bed.”

We climbed in bed and it was pretty easy to fall asleep from the log day and even the long night last night. I closed my eyes and don’t remember much else aside from Levi’s voice whispering “I love you.”

I tried to say it back before sleep overtook me, but I’m not sure if what I said actually made any sense, but I know he definitely got what I was trying to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more chapter after this! Thank you for supporting the story I hope you enjoyed it!


	76. Scale

Hearing the alarm ring I wanted to roll over and ignore it, but then I remembered that I was going to be working on my power tonight. I actually got excited thinking about it. I sat up and Levi gave me a smile as he silenced the alarm. “Looks like you’re ready to practice?” He asked already knowing the answer.

“Yup, and I have a good feeling about tonight,” I said happily kicking my feet off the side of the bed. I leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before getting up and getting ready.

Levi was already dressed by the time I got out of the bathroom. What a shame, I was hoping if I hurried I would get a nice view.

“Hey if that’s what you want then all you have to do is ask,” Levi said giving me a little wink as he walked past me into the bathroom.

I picked my jaw off the floor and shook my head. I can’t get distracted. Focus, I have to have a clear head tonight. I grabbed my jacket and put my shoes on. I started grabbing some of the books and putting it in the backpack as Levi came out of the bathroom.

“You grab the blanket and the scale and I’ll grab-,” I was cut off when I tried to pick up and throw the bag over my shoulder. It barely lifted off the ground and instead scooted over and fell back on my foot. “Fuck!” I winced getting my foot out from under the bag. I knew it would be heavy but I think I underestimated just how much.

“I think you mean you’ll grab the blanket and scale,” Levi said before pointing to the backpack stuffed with the heaviest books I could find. “I’ll take this,” he said moving his hand so gracefully. The bag lifted off the floor with ease and hovered over towards him. He put the straps of the backpack on despite it still hovering just above his back.

I quietly grabbed the scale and the blanket as my own boyfriend showed me up. “Hey, you’ll be able to do this too one day. That’s what we are working towards remember,” he smiled and I just rolled my eyes.

“Yeah I know, but you can do it so effortlessly.” I thought about how last night when I tried to use my powers to save Armin how my own power not only knocked the wind out of me but also drained my energy and almost made me blackout. “Did you ever have any of those issues?” I asked hearing how stupid it sounded. I know he has points where his powers go haywire why was I asking such a dumb question.

“I still do.”

“Sorry, I forgot for a minute. You just make it look so easy.”

“Well, it takes lots of practice,” he walked towards the door before gesturing for us to head out, “which is exactly what we are going to do.”

“You’re right,” I smiled and I followed him out of the room. I locked the door after us and we headed to the cafeteria to pick up some food. After picking up some food we made our way out to the field. I kept staring at the backpack the whole way out there.

“No it’s not heavy,” Levi finally said as we approached our usual spot.

“Sorry,” I mumbled realizing that I’ve been mentally asking that since we left the dorm. I spread out the blanket and he set down the backpack next to us on the grass.

“It’s fine, let’s eat,” he said plopping down on the blanket and setting his food in his lap.

“Okay,” I said sitting down next to him dropping the scale on the blanket.

“Also Eren, remember if you see someone running towards the cliff don’t go jumping off the edge,” he teased.

“Yeah, I know smartass. I tell you,” I rolled my eyes.

“Good I’m just making sure you know,” he smiled before taking a bite of his food. We ate quietly for a few minutes until we finished our food. I couldn’t stop staring at the backpack the whole time.

“Relax, I’m sure you’ll do great,” Levi said patting me on the shoulder, “and even if it’s not perfect, that's okay. We are practicing.”

“You’re right,” I nodded before taking a deep breath and giving him a smile. I can do this.

We both stood up and Levi started unpacking all the books. He tied them all together and nodded at me, “ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” I said, taking a few steps forwards over to the scale that we had put on the grass. Levi used his powers to lift the books onto the scale before releasing them.

I looked at the weight 27 pounds. That’s heavier than I thought it would be. That landed on my foot earlier. No wonder it hurt. I could feel the black and blue mark forming on my foot.

“So first we are going to work on trying to make them weightless but not fully weightless.,” Levi said and I gave him a confused look.

“So you’re going to make them lighter since it says 27 pounds try making it like 10 to 15 pounds.” 

“Um, alright,” I mumbled trying not to stress myself out with negative thoughts. I took a deep breath and tried my best. I remembered how heavy they felt when I tried to lift them early and I mentally tried to imagine how it would feel to take out a few of the books. I opened my eyes and saw that the weight was 2 pounds. Shit, that’s not what I wanted. Maybe I can’t do it.

“No negative thoughts,” Levi groaned. “It’s a start, it says 2, not 0.”

“You’re right,” I took a calming breath and closed my eyes tried to add some weight to it. When I opened them it said… 2 pounds. I let out a frustrated sigh.

“Try keeping your eyes open. Maybe closing your eyes you’re imagining adding the weight but your power isn’t actually doing it,” Levi suggested and I nodded. I took a breath and closed my eyes before opening them again realizing that I was supposed to keep them open.

I looked at the books that I felt like should be added to make the weigh heavier and I tried to release those individually from my power. I looked down at the scale and saw it was now at 9 pounds. I almost did it! I released one more book and watched the weight pop up 13 pounds.

“I did it!” I said excitedly dropping my focus.

“You did,” Levi said happily. “Now the hard part,” he said looking back at the weight. “Try and get it higher, but not really high just a few pounds. Let's say between 30-40 to start. Just aim for 35 if you can.”

He was giving me a bigger ranger knowing that this power is harder for me to control, but I still don’t think 10 pounds is enough since before I’ve been adding a couple hundred extra.

“Just try, again this is practice. If you can’t do it then we know what you need to work on,” he said, placing a hand on my shoulder giving me a comforting smile.

“You’re right,” I said taking a deep breath. I closed my eyes despite knowing I wasn’t supposed to. I didn’t want to see this trainwreck. I took another deep breath and started adding weight. I just hoped the I didn’t break the scale.

When I felt like I added enough weight I opened my eyes expecting to see hundreds of pounds on there.

“Wow,” I said, seeing that it was only at 93. “Not as bad as I thought, I thought it was going to be in the 300’s.

I kept my eyes open this time as I tried to lessen the weight I was adding. I watched the numbers slowly drop until I got to 50.

“I'm so close,” I whispered to myself, “yet so far.”

“Closer than ever,” Levi said and I nodded.

“It’s definitely an improvement.” I took another deep breath and really focused until I hit 41. “Almost there,” I mumbled before closing my eyes. When I opened them I was on the floor and Levi was holding me in his arms.

“Eren are you okay?” he asked looking at me really scared.

“Sorry, I must have blacked out.”

“You did good but we’re done for today,” Levi said quickly.

“No!” I said quickly sitting up. My head spun for a second. “I was so close, “I just need a little break and then I know I can do it.”

“We pushed your power to hard.”

“I know, but I can do this. I need to do this,” I said desperately. “I’m getting better but I need to prove to myself I can do it.” I gave him the biggest puppy dog eyes I could while remaining determined. I wasn’t leaving until I did this.

Levi just stared at me for a moment before letting out a defeated sigh. “Your eyes are my weakness,” he mumbled and shook his head. “Fine, but if you blackout again promise me you will stop, we can try again tomorrow.”

“Okay, I can agree to that,” I nodded. “Just one more try.”

“Okay, but give it a little while,” Levi said helping me to my feet. We walked back over to the blanket to relax for a while before trying again.

After about an hour I had gotten antsy and couldn’t wait any longer. I stood up even though Levi told me I should rest for a little longer. When he saw I wasn’t going to listen he got up and stood next to me probably so he could catch me if I black out again.

I looked at the weight and 27 stared back at me. Okay, I can do this. I was one point off last time. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes hoping that it was less than a hundred again before using my powers on the stack of books. I opened my eyes and saw that it was already down to 50.

“You’re not helping are you?” I turned to Levi who shook his head.

“Nope, that’s all you babe,” he smiled.

I felt a big smile spread across my face before looking back at the scale and taking a breath. Not that far to go now. I watched as the numbers dropped easier this time around. I was back down to 41 in about a minute of using my powers whereas last time it took me longer than 10.

I paused to take a breath, “Just one more at least,” I mumbled before using my powers and watching it drop down to 35 and stop.

“Eren,” Levi said sounding so proud.

“I did it,” I said almost not believing it. Levi said aim for 35 and I hit it. Dead on the mark. It only took me two tries. “I can control my powers,” I said, letting go of the books and turning back to Levi excitedly throwing my arms around him. “Sure it takes a few minutes but I can do it.”

“I’m so proud of you babe,” he said kissing me on the cheek. “I knew you could do it.”

After the excitement wore off I could feel the exhaustion. “Oh man I really overdid it,” I said with an awkward laugh.

“Just a little,” Levi nodded, “you’re not used to using your powers for long drawn out activities just yet, but it’s okay we will work on that later.” he laughed, “but I think we should head to bed. He said checking the time. “We can turn in a few minutes early.”

“I’d like that,” I nodded and we both headed back to the dorm to get some sleep before class starts.

We headed back to the dorm before getting a few hours of sleep. I woke up pretty well-rested despite feeling so tired last night. After we got ready for class we bumped into Jean and Marco and walked to class with them. After taking our seats ni Hanji’s class I looked at Armin and Mikasa to make sure they were feeling okay. Armin slept in her room last night.

They both seemed to be doing better than when I last saw them. Armin didn’t have bags under his eyes tonight and Ymir seemed to be smiling and looking at Armin. Looks like someone has a message for him since she seems to be whispering to a spirit. She looked at me too. And when I smiled at her and gave her a confused look trying to mentally ask if she was talking to who I think she was talking to.

She just nodded and pointed at Armin Mikasa and then me. I knew that meant it was a message for all of us, but that would have to wait for lunch. I’m sure it’s grandpa just trying to tell us he’s okay.

I decided to distract myself from the depressing topic and focus on the class. Hanji was teaching, but at the same time, I wasn’t that interested in this topic. I looked at Levi who seemed to be focused on what she was saying. Rather than sit here bored I decided to entertain myself.

I looked at Levi before closing my eyes and letting my imagination run wild. I heard Levi clear his throat and I opened my eyes. He just glared at me before going back to listening to Hanji. I just shrugged before closing my eyes again thinking about the same thing but in more lewd details.

“Knock it off,” I heard him whisper harshly before trying to go back to listening to Hanji.

I just smiled and kept thinking about Levi’s lips as he moaned under me how his whole body twitches when you’ve hit the right spot and how he makes the cutes noises when-.

A pencil flew at my face but I stopped it before hitting me. I just looked at it as it floated in place in front of me. I used my powers to set it back on Levi’s desk like he never threw it at me. “I think this is yours,” I said teasingly.

He tried to pick it up but I just smiled as I saw him fail. He looked up at me and I just gave him a devious smirk.

“Looks like you’ve finally got the hang of it.”

“Well, after throwing myself off a cliff with nothing to rely on but my power sure changes things. Oh and so did last night’s practice,” I added knowing that that is what definitely helped me get this trick down. However, the only reason it was possible was because I opened myself up to my power… by throwing myself off the cliff.

“I told you you’d get the hang of it,” he whispered with a small smile.

“Yeah, you just failed to mention that in order to do so I would have to watch my friend nearly die and potentially risk my life,” I raised an eyebrow.

Levi just shrugged, “hey that part caught me off guard too, but hey the world works in mysterious ways.” After he said that he got really serious before narrowing his eyes at me, “but I swear to god if you ever try to throw yourself off a cliff again I will kill you myself.”

“I promise I won’t do it again,” I smile.

“Yeah you promised the last time too,” Levi rolled his eyes before leaning over and placing a quick kiss on my cheek.

I let go of Levi’s pencil and he went back to paying attention to Hanji. So I went back to my lewd thoughts of Levi moaning under me. Levi nudged me with his elbow before whispering, “you better stop that.”

“Or what.”

Levi just smiled. “Well that scene your imagining try that, but flip the roles so that you’re on the bottom.”

Eren’s thoughts flipped the rolls and he turned to Levi and said.

So I did just that I flipped the roles so that Levi was topping me and causing me to moan with so much pleasure. “Promise?” with a purr in my voice.

“Fine, after class, we are heading straight to our dorm and I’ll make you eat those words.”

“Please do,” I winked and him and he got really flustered.

Jean just turned around before whispering, “damn guys in class,” before yell whispering, “get some.”

I tried to stop myself from laughing but then Marco nudged him really hard with his elbow before whispering, “mind your own business.” Well, shit those two know we’re getting laid later. I thought to Levi who just shook his head in embarrassment.

“Well, they are making it my business they are sitting directly behind me I just want to know when to duck since I’m in the splash zone,” Jean said and Marco looked so mortified that he just turned back around defeated. Levi and I couldn’t help but die laughing. We didn’t care that everyone was looking at us confused it was worth it.

\-------------------

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s note~ Thank you all for reading. I really hope you enjoyed this story. Thank you to all who commented and liked the chapters and for supporting my work. If you liked this story try checking out some of my other works!
> 
> As for up comings stories I don’t have anything that I’m planning on posting here at the moment. I will probably be making some in the future.
> 
> That being said I am currently writing several stories that when completed I plan on publishing them for profit. I will probably be posting previews of these stories to this platform in the future, but for now, I have nothing I am planning on posting. I will update to let you know if anything changes.
> 
> I hope you guys have a wonderful day.
> 
> ~Chaos TJ


	77. Announcement

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am planning on continuing this story, however, it will be separate from this one. I am planning on making a separate book since the continuation has a time skip. 

It won't be out for a little while since im still piecing together my outline and figuring out a few things but It shouldnt take to long.

You aren't going to want to miss the sequel to this story. There is a 3 year time skip and a lot has changed in everyones lives and the school. Everyones lives have flipped upside down teachers and students alike. 

That's about as much I can say aside from there is goings to be a lot more action and even some new characters making some appearances.

i hope you all check it out. I'll post an update here when it does come out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any spelling mistakes my laptop is getting fixed and I had to type this up on my phone.


	78. Sequel News

The sequel is now out you can find it under the name Freedom Fighters League of the Exiled on my page. I hope you enjoy! also here is the summary of the story.

SUMMARY

This story is the sequel to Freedom Scouts School for Powered Individuals. Since the end of that story, it’s been three years and society as a whole has changed. Heavy restrictions for people with powers have been put in place as well as laws that make it possible for people to openly discriminate against them.

There is a war going on between people with powers and the government. Some powered individuals are actively fighting back and others are just trying to keep their heads down. The people fighting back have been labeled “the exiled.” They need to keep their heads down and stay under the radar or risk being caught or worse killed. The Exiled often make “costumes.” Costumes being mostly normal clothes that have been designed to fit their powers in a way that they choose.

The school was closed down before any of the insane laws were put into place. Pixis was able to tell where this was leading and offered his students a safe way out. He gave them the option of returning to society or going with him and the teachers underground to stay safe. Most of the students thought he was crazy and left, but Eren and his whole class, as well as a few others from different classes, decided to go with him. They found an abandoned mall at the very edge of town near a forest where they’ve been keeping their head low.

After keeping their heads down for so long they started to get antsy and decided they needed to fight back. They worked on strengthening their powers to be able to join the ongoing fight for their rights. However, powers were never meant for an all-out war. Pushing their powers past their limits they discovered with overuse of their powers comes consequences known as backlashes. These can affect their powers as well as their bodies. These backlashes can range in severity being short term damage or permanent damage depending on the severity of the backlash.

Will they be able to win the war or will they be captured and killed in the process of fighting for their freedom?


End file.
